High School Boss
by 1arigato
Summary: After the Representative Battles of the Rainbow, Tsuna's going to be Vongola Decimo in more than just name, and the world is going to realise that Vongola's tenth generation is more than just a bunch of kids. All those rumours of their power? Not exaggerated ENOUGH, apparently. Rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

Mafia children everywhere followed the tenth generation Vongola guardians like they were sports stars.

Mukuro of the Six Paths could almost completely fool Vendice with illusions by the age of fifteen, and at the same time was also deadly in close-combat, which no illusionist had ever accomplished before — even the ex-Arcobaleno Mammon. Aspiring illusionists looked up to Mukuro in wonder. His girl counterpart, Chrome, was said to be a quiet, shy character, but could kick butt just the same with illusions like Mukuro, proving that gender did _not_ dictate how strong one could be; she was mafia girls' favourite.

Sasagawa Ryohei gave hope to those wishing to join the medical field, as he did not let his naturally medically-used flame attribute stop him from dishing out the most explosive, destructive punches when needed — punches even ex-Arcobaleno Colonello had to acknowledge. Ryohei was proof a medic didn't have to be someone who could only sit at the sidelines.

Lambo was a role-model to the much, _much_ younger mafiosi. Despite his becoming guardian at an age at least seven years younger than the others, Lambo always _tolerated_ when the going seemed tough, and — to even the older children's shock — it was rumoured he attacked Reborn often and still walked away unscathed. Indeed, it was said the young Lightning Guardian could take grenades, a punch from the Reborn, or even three million volts of electricity and simply pop back up a beat later.

Young mafiosi were awed that even the adults had to respect the raw power and fighting prowess of the "strongest tenth generation Vongola guardian," Hibari Kyouya, as well as his ability to lead a disciplinary group.

The Vongola Decimo's right- and left-hand men, Smokin' Bomb Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi respectively, were many children's favourites as well. Most in the mafia scorned those whose fighting style was mid to long-range, but Gokudera Hayato had risen not only from an aimless punk in Italy to a guardian of the strongest mafia famiglia, but had become the Vongola Decimo's _right-hand man _— an honoured position in _any_ mafia famiglia, which made the fact that his was of Vongola that much bigger of a deal. Yamamoto Takeshi's natural talent amazed many with his flawless transition of wielding one sword to four to two without changing his sword-fighting style, and it was rumoured even Reborn had commented that Yamamoto was a natural hitman.

No one, however, amazed the younger generations of the mafia like the Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

He began as a civilian, which already made the entirety of the mafia world sceptical he could truly become someone worthy to lead the strongest mafia famiglia, especially as even civilians in Tsuna's area called him useless. When this "no good" civilian beat Rokudo Mukuro and his gang, however, mafia children became curious while the adults scoffed, claiming it was but a small scuffle in Japan. But when Tsuna won against _Xanxus_ in a ring battle for position as Vongola Decimo just weeks following the Kokuyo incident, somehow, even the adults couldn't think of the faceless Japanese boy as a mere civilian anymore.

When Vongola announced it would conduct the Inheritance Ceremony, privileged famiglias that came burned with curiosity over the tenth generation, but the guardians' failure in stopping a surprise attack from the Shimon Famiglia simply made the mafia world sceptical again. Perhaps all those stories about the Vongola X Generation were just rumours Vongola spread to prevent them from seeming weak?

How the Shimon conflict was resolved, the clam famiglia was silent about, but it was said that young Sawada had touched the Shimon don's heart, and the tenth generation gained a new ally in the Shimon Famiglia following that. It was also said that Vendice and the long deceased Vongola Primo's mist guardian Daemon Spade were supposedly involved in the conflict as well, so no one hurried to believe the stories right away. The children didn't stop believing in the Vongola Decimo, though, when they heard Rokudo Mukuro was walking around in Japan in the flesh after the conflict. After all, how could the ex-convict be around unless Vendice freed him? Vendice couldn't have a change of heart unless _something_ happened during the Shimon conflict.

News of the Rainbow Representative Battles was the real killer. The famiglias involved were tight-lipped about the details, but no one could escape hearing how Sawada Tsunayoshi gathered allies and even people who were once his greatest opponents — including Six Paths Mukuro and his gang, the Shimon boss Enma Kozato, and the stubborn and powerful Xanxus of Varia — and held a meeting that led to the ultimate resolving of the Arcobaleno representative battles. Supposedly, there were too many witnesses of the meeting to deny the story — something about Dino Cavallone's men crowding around the house — but adults still had trouble believing it. Children did not, for if there was evidence or as close as one could get to it, then why try denying something extraordinary?

After the Rainbow Representative Battles, any news of the Vongola Tenth Generation had suddenly gone silent, and the young generations of the mafia were disappointed to no longer hear of their "sports stars." What both the children and the adults of the mafia didn't know was that there was a certain Namimori student whose grandfather figure decided after the Rainbow Representative Battle that it was time for the boy to take on responsibilities as Vongola Decimo.

And so the wheels started turning.

* * *

Reborn looked at a framed picture that sat on the desk of Tsuna's bedroom, his lips twitching in a smile at the memory. The photo was taken when the ex-Arcobaleno had thanked Tsuna greatly for what he did the day following the final Rainbow Representative Battle. Nana had exclaimed she had never seen her son be hugged by so many infants, but when Uni and _Lal_ bent over to kiss Tsuna on the cheek, not even Tsuna's desperate pleas to his mother could calm the woman, and the picture Nana took was shared with Iemitsu.

Basil mischievously leaked to the other agents of CEDEF how the grown man cried and smothered Tsuna in a hug with, "My precious Tsunayoshi! Why do you have to attract girls at an age so young? Daddy won't hand you over so easilyyy!" When they heard of it, the CEDEF members rolled their eyes in the immature act of their leader, who especially sounded obnoxious when he couldn't even finish a sentence without sobbing.

When Dino's voice came into Reborn's recollecting, the hitman inwardly sighed. He knew Dino had a tendency to talk much when excited or stressed on a subject, but this was quite lengthy, even for the blonde. After the final Rainbow Representative Battle, Dino had finally wished to speak of the Vongola Nono's decision choosing Tsuna as his successor with such bad timing, and his emotions bled into his speech since the Cavallone got to know Tsuna personally over the course of the year.

"Tsuna was raised outside of the mafia up until recently, so I see the logic in getting Tsuna involved in matters he theoretically should have been introduced to in the beginning, but _famiglia matters_ and _boss responsibilities_ differ greatly in the energy required to put in! It is true that Tsuna and I started tutorship under you at the same age, and are now individuals who have surpassed our ancestors, but it took me _years_ to get to where I am. Tsuna took _nine months._" Dino scratched his recent injury, a slash that vertically ran from his shoulder to his waist, courtesy to Jäger. "That level of growth is unheard of, Reborn. Considering Tsuna's accomplishments, the span of time it took to complete them, and that his ancestors include the founder of Vongola himself, one day of rest after the final representative battle doesn't sound like enough!"

Dino knew his tutor wasn't completely cold-hearted, but in light of recent knowledge that Tsuna was willing to risk dying at Vendice's hands or taking on the burden as an Arcobaleno, the young don at least deserved a break. That the Ninth was now pushing several boss responsibilities on Tsuna was enough for Dino to want to pull his hair out in worry for his little brother figure.

"There's corruption in Vongola; the Ninth recognises he has been running the famiglia the old-fashioned way and wants a fresher mind to take the reigns. Tsuna is needed as soon as possible," Reborn stated, but when he looked away, Dino knew that his ex-tutor felt the same. The Cavallone sighed, as he couldn't deny the truth of Reborn's statement. When the blonde dropped his head, a yellow object caught his eye, and his head lifted in curiosity.

"Why do you wear that?"

Reborn looked down at his fake yellow pacifier in memory—

_At a deserted temple, Tsuna's head whipped to Reborn when the hitman nonchalantly spoke as if he wasn't going to die soon. "Why did you say you've never expected to die a decent death!? Have you been thinking like that the entire time you were at my side! Even when we were all having fun…were you thinking of something so _bad!?_" Tsuna was shouting in anger, but Reborn could see in his student's eyes that Tsuna was inwardly crying. "__**You're a failure as a home tutor!**__ This time, I will teach you…!" _

_Tsuna's voice suddenly failed, and he turned away to collapse on the temple steps. Reborn thought his student was crying, but when he sat down as well and saw a bone-deep weariness, he realised that Tsuna had simply gotten _tired_ of crying. "Reborn…" Tsuna murmured softly, and Reborn was afraid of what he was going to say next, "I'm not going to let you die." _

_After tricking Tsuna with a sleeping act and sending the brunette away, Reborn gazed after his disappearing figure. "You finally became like I wanted," he spoke, before he looked down at his pacifier, "but impossible things are impossible." Reborn suddenly felt a deep twist in his heart, and he knew it was the same sadness he saw reflected in Tsuna's eyes. Tch. Dame-Tsuna, you foolish boy…. "How troublesome," he muttered. _

—and looked up to smirk at Dino. "Habit," he lied. The pacifier reminded him of the one person who made a professional, experienced hitman like Reborn feel genuine emotion again, and he didn't plan to forget about such an individual anytime soon, or ever. Reborn did not miss the irony that a schoolboy called "no good" by his own classmates — an existence very much pathetic to the old Reborn's eyes and one he would have erased — was the precise person who touched his heart when he already doubted he truly had one.

Dino gave a look at his former tutor with a message along the lines of, _I'm trusting you to watch over Tsuna despite what Nono might command._ Reborn didn't give a response to that, but the two mafiosi understood that come fire or ice, they would never abandon Tsuna.

Aside from the serious talk, the daily life following the Rainbow Representative Battle was certainly entertaining. Reborn amusedly watched his student run about in a state of distress as he shouted an exasperated reminder after his cloud guardian that _his collarbone was still broken and patrolling could be left to Kusakabe, so he didn't even have __**be**__ at school with his condition, really!_ and checking up on his sun guardian nervously with a constant, _go straight home once you start feeling tired, Onii-san, because healing many people can be exhausting, and we're all very grateful for it—_ but Reborn also observed that several of his student's guardians were keeping a watchful eye of their own.

Gokudera was especially ready to knock down Tsuna's bullies if they so much as looked at the brunette wrong, and the dynamite user had a good harvest since the other usual bully target was gone due to the Shimon boss and his famiglia returning to Simon Middle after the Representative Battle. Yamamoto was more sensitive to Tsuna's needs as well, and the brunette would often turn to find his dropped pencil mysteriously back on his desk, or a bottle of water already in hand's reach when his throat got dry from fretting over Ryohei and Hibari. Chrome, Kyoko, and Hana seemed to have understood something of the situation, for they managed to deflect enough suspicion or attention from Namichuu faculty and students from Tsuna and his guardians.

Tsuna was also quick to get home while being mindful of his friends' states. Hibari may have had the worst injury, but Ryohei had used flames the longest among his fellow guardians on the day of the last Representative Battle, and Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Chrome had fought Vendice, so the last three weren't spared Tsuna's mother-henning once the brunette was given the chance. It was only Haru's often unexpected but welcomed appearances and resulting combined adamance with Kyoko that the two girls would walk Chrome home to Kokuyo Land that Tsuna didn't escort the female illusionist himself in fear that Chrome would suddenly get tired and get lost, or be attacked by robbers, or—

Reborn's student had quite the imagination.

Once Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera would reach the Sawada Residence, Tsuna would check up on his dad, Basil, and Dino, the former having been persuaded (—forced, but Iemitsu wasn't going to so easily admit that his son's private speech with him after the Arcobaleno curse was lifted made him feel really guilty about leaving Nana home alone for long periods of time) to stay for a while, and the latter two having agreed to stay with the Sawadas after they were released from the hospital, with Dino pulling out of his teacher cover due to his healing injuries.

After the humorous wife-choosing prank Reborn pulled on Tsuna and the congratulations he gave to his student in being a future Neo Primo — which was the same as Vongola Decimo, really, and Tsuna huffed at that — the brunette's fretting over everyone's condition seemed to tame a bit, but Tsuna would still send glances in the general direction of where Varia, the Kokuyo gang, and "Millefiore" stayed in Japan before their key members recovered enough to return to responsibilities. Reborn could only sigh at his student's unnecessary concern, because really, what small Japanese kid worried over elite assassins and mafiosi who had threatened the safety of himself and his friends at least once? These guys could obviously take care of themselves. By the seventh day, however, Reborn had finally decided action must be taken.

With stolen phone numbers in hand and a telephone Leon in the other, Reborn located a fighting Hibari and Mukuro in the middle of a Namimori forest, with Dino trailing behind his ex-tutor. The two guardians' breaths were laboured despite their best efforts, and their faces contorted with pain whenever their broken collarbone shifted. All in all, the pair were _total idiots_ for moving about in their condition — something Reborn caught Tsuna mutter under his breath once and amusedly filed away in his mind — and the sluggish pace they fought could have hardly called their interaction a battle. It was easy stopping the two teens and forcing them to listen to Reborn as he rang a hotel room and Byakuran, before continuing on to explain the main topic of the group discussion to be Tsuna, primarily his recent behaviour.

"Ah, Tsuna's been like that the entire week," Dino smiled with laughing eyes at Reborn's description of the brunette for the past several days, but when Reborn reflected no such amusement, Dino's smile melted off, and Mukuro and Hibari looked up at the hitman's silence from where they were staring elsewhere in a resolute attempt to appear uninterested.

"He gets nightmares."

Far away, Byakuran's usually closed, smiling eyes opened, and his lips thinned to a small frown. In an extravagant hotel a distance away from where former Team Uni stayed, Xanxus's hand that was stirring a glass of wine stilled, and red eyes glanced at a part of his arm where under his sleeves, a scar could be seen identifying where a mix of illusions, sun flame regeneration, and stitching had mended his arm back together. Squalo said nothing as he continued to hold the phone put on speaker.

"Of the battle," Reborn explained. "Of coming to a scene where he thinks everyone is dead or at least almost there." Dino felt extremely guilty for not understanding his "lil' bro's" recent behaviour better, and Mukuro and Hibari shared a glance for the briefest of moments. Unbeknownst to the six, they subconsciously touched the place on themselves where a scar would forever remind them of their one-sided battle with Jäger.

"All of you," Reborn said with a deceptively even tone, "better _pick up your weight_ and properly _prove_ to Tsuna that he is someone to you, or I will show you something scarier than Jäger." It wasn't an empty threat. Without having to look at Reborn, everyone understood that the hitman was serious.

With the message then shared, Reborn hung up on his phone and disappeared into the forest to who knew where — most likely to watch everyone's effort unseen — and Dino silently trudged to the Sawada Residence with his head bowed in thought while periodically tripping over nothing.

Hibari and Mukuro got up to fight some more; of the group who originally faced Jäger, they were the last line of attack, yet they would have failed if Tsuna had not come. Their reason for sparring, while a common sight, had changed since that battle. They couldn't forget how pathetically the six of them – Byakuran, Xanxus, Squalo, Dino, Mukuro, and Hibari – fell like flies at Jäger's hands, how Tsuna conducted a condensed X Burner just in time, how Mukuro and Hibari fell to the ground with broken collarbones, glad the battle was over. And then to hear the final words of _present please_….

Trident and tonfa clashed again, and when the two fighters made eye contact, they silently made an agreement. Never again would they be too weak to help Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

Instead of a round of bullets or a two-ton hammer, Tsuna woke up to marshmallows. Nana claimed the countless bags of the treat had been shipped to the house and addressed for Tsuna, and Lambo had attempted eating them, except I-Pin interfered to stop the boy from stealing from Tsuna. The end result was a collision of children, plastic bags, and Tsuna, where the bags burst and sent marshmallows everywhere. The sound of the bags bursting was what woke Tsuna up, but the avalanche of marshmallows was what kept him in bed, although unwillingly.

After he managed to surface himself and clean the mess up, he rushed out of the house in order to make it to class on time. Dino had tried helping Tsuna leave quickly but mostly made things worse with Romario absent, and Tsuna curiously wondered over his self-proclaimed older brother's awkward behaviour that morning until the brunette realised he had scant minutes before the bell rang. At school, Hibari had delayed Tsuna — an act that was out of character, as the prefect strictly enforced the school rules — and looked as if he was struggling to do or say something, but _class was really going to start!_ Tsuna managed to make it to his seat, only for his exhausted state to shoot up when the teacher introduced a new student, Rokudo Mukuro.

Rokudo **Mukuro**.

In **Hibari's** territory.

Just the acceptance of the fact made Tsuna weary for what was to come.

The teacher explained that Rokudo-kun had past medical problems, so despite his older age, he was going to be in the class's grade. The girls were naturally pleased, and Chrome sensed she was about to be showered by gifts from her female classmates in the near future when Mukuro greeted her as a dear cousin, but Tsuna really, _really_ wished he had just allowed himself to drown in marshmallows for the rest of the morning so that he could miss Mukuro directly approaching him and _kissing him on the cheek._

It had been overwhelming for Chrome to do it the first time with a proceeding, "Bossu," but Mukuro doing it with a suave, "Ciao, Tsunayoshi-kun" was enough to make Tsuna blanch in apprehension of what his male mist guardian was planning and freeze in shock. Gokudera was quick to put the pineapple freak a safe distance from the Tenth before checking that his beloved boss wasn't physically ill. Yamamoto just burst in laughter, though this time, it was not due to the lack of understanding of what recently occurred.

After calming Gokudera and pleading Yamamoto to not laugh at his situation, Tsuna thought the school day went on smoothly enough aside from classmates' interrogations which were vaguely answered or outright avoided, but come lunchtime, at the sight of Hibari and Mukuro approaching Tsuna with a purpose, Tsuna thought it was a good time to figure out _what_ in the name of _Reborn's espresso_ was going on, or prepare for a fight that might not end with him in one piece. Or even the school building.

At Tsuna's stern gaze, cloud and mist fidgeted and immediately regretted moving their healing collarbones, when Yamamoto broke the serious atmosphere with a cheery announcement that his dad made everyone lunch out of a ten-pound fish Squalo caught and ordered the Yamamoto pair to make sushi out of. He added that Squalo brought wine from Xanxus, but Yamamoto did not bring the bottle due to them being underage. Mukuro was going to school; Hibari wasn't paying attention to rules; Yamamoto, Squalo, and Xanxus seemed to have conspired over lunch food; and Gokudera and Ryohei were the least abnormal people present. Tsuna felt his brow twitch.

"**Reborn!**"

The answer to everything.

The infant hitman had the audacity to smile, entertained, as he came into the scene via Leon-paraglider and simply reply that everything was going fine. Tsuna stared hard at his tutor who didn't blink at his student's scrutiny, before his hyper intuition acted up. Tsuna's other guardians curiously watched as the brunette suddenly exhaled slowly.

"It's okay," Tsuna assured, before he briefly laughed looking back on his morning. "In the beginning, I shouldn't be worrying over everyone so much like I have lately. I should trust you guys more." Here, Tsuna addressed everyone, and Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei shared a look. Their boss had calmed down. Tsuna made sure to communicate with Byakuran, Xanxus, Squalo, and Dino as well that any promises Reborn must have made wouldn't happen and that he was grateful for their concern.

Apparently, when Mukuro decided to attend Namichuu in order to speak with Tsuna properly, the others of the Kokuyo gang agreed — mostly begrudgingly — that perhaps education was a little important, and Tsuna was…pleasantly surprised to hear from Fuuta that Chikusa, Ken, and MM were the boy's new classmates. The three had the same excuse as Mukuro for their significant age difference from the majority of their grade. Fran had become Fuuta's classmate as well, as the two were the same age.

Tsuna was horrified to learn that the Kokuyo gang, Gokudera, and Spanner were staying in the same apartment. The old man who was the landlord didn't know what to make of the envelope of money that was anonymously left for him at his kitchen table, but Tsuna knew repairs were costly. There was also a little extra to make up for the stress the man would experience. Tsuna almost volunteered housing the young mafiosi himself just to spare the old man, except the Sawada household wasn't that big, and Tsuna wasn't that desperate to grow grey hair just yet.

That was how Mukuro joined Namichuu without first getting bitten to death.

* * *

**A/N: Tsuna is my absolute, most favourite KHR character, so there will obviously be some praise about him in this fic. He won't always be the main character in every chapter, though, because there were a lot of open ends in the final KHR chapter, i.e. the existence of Millefiore — the famiglia, and not Team Uni — which has yet to be explained or confirmed, among other loose ends.**

**Let me know what you think so far! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

Gamma amusedly watched as some members of the Giglio Nero and Gesso Famiglias looked around in wonder as the two groups stepped into the Sawada household. Uni and Byakuran had agreed that a unification of the two famiglias would be beneficial for both parties, but as the Gesso Famiglia was young and had Byakuran as boss only recently, and the Giglio Nero Famiglia having respectable roots and members wary of Gesso, a formal meeting had to take place.

Due to distrust between most members of both famiglias, the people with memories of the future — Uni, Gamma, Byakuran, and others — shared the desire of having the meeting take place on neutral grounds both famiglias' wary members could loosen up in. They agreed that the young Vongola Decimo's dining room — the location of the last serious meeting — was perfect.

As the meeting was official and centred on the unification of famiglias, more than just Gamma, Tazaru, Nosaru, and the six Funeral Wreaths attended, and the other members that came along were awed to step into the same place where the leaders of Vongola, Varia, Gesso, Shimon, and Cavallone, and prominent members of Giglio Nero and CEDEF, once sat together and discussed an alliance for the final Fight of the Rainbow.

The one who made the famous meeting happen was also the one whom accepted Byakuran and Uni's request and was currently leading the mafiosi in to his house, and Gamma's amusement furthered when the members that weren't familiar with the concept of "Millefiore" looked about the place in reverence and were oblivious as to exactly who the brunette speaking casually with Uni and Byakuran was. Everyone who came was at least mildly proficient in Japanese, but the members unaware they were in the presence of the Decimo probably didn't fully understand the three skies' conversation nor tried to understand as they were busy gazing about the place.

For some reason, the young Decimo appeared to be in a state of worry he was attempting to dampen in the presence of company, but when the doorbell rang and Irie Shouichi and Spanner stepped in, the Decimo's face significantly cleared, and he directed Byakuran and Uni to the dining room for their meeting before greeting the two new arrivals.

The formalities of the meeting were fulfilled very quickly, and soon everyone but the two bosses soon found themselves leaving the dining room to wait in the living room, which was a more casual version of the dining room with one wall dominated by sliding glass doors that opened to a backyard. The young Decimo was still engaged in conversation with the two "former Millefiore members," but their talk seemed to be coming to its end. Gokudera Hayato had appeared as well, and was standing by the door as he watched his beloved Tenth patiently.

Bruno, a Giglio Nero mafioso only one rank below Gamma, leaned in to ask him in a whisper the identity of the brunette who spoke and acted comfortably in the house. The corners of Gamma's lips lifted slightly, and he replied, "That's the Vongola Decimo." Those who were oblivious to the brunette's identity fell in mute shock at the revelation, and the young don had just finished his conversation when Bruno approached him and bowed slightly.

"Thank you for freeing the princess of her curse."

The Decimo didn't reply right away, and his gaze slid past Bruno to Gamma. The blonde man watched as the young don looked back to Bruno, when Kikyo called for his attention at the side with the murmur of, "The Decimo doesn't speak Italian, right?" Gamma froze at the realisation, and he stared hard at Gokudera, who was waiting for his boss at the door, prepared to open it for the brunette. Gamma knew the bomber had a background in Italy and was no doubt fluent in Italian, but Gokudera had yet to realise his boss's situation.

_Hey, brat! _Gamma mentally called out. _You call yourself right-hand man — save your boss right now!_

Despite Gamma's mental shouting, Gokudera didn't budge from his spot, completely oblivious to the blonde man's slight distress. The Decimo opened his mouth, and Gamma knew he was too late, only to be surprised by the brunette's words and following smile. "I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends, and Uni was worth the effort."His speech had a hint of a Japanese accent, but it was Italian nonetheless, and Bruno smiled back to the young don before returning to his spot by Tazaru.

"Who knew the Vongola Decimo was humble and benevolent," Bruno commented quietly, and Gamma found himself slightly relaxing, as he knew that a boss's first impression on bosses of other famiglias was as crucial as it was on its members.

"Gamma-san, Kikyo-san," the young Vongola addressed, and the two looked up to meet his eyes. "My guardians and I have a sudden meeting to attend, and my — eh — charges are currently playing upstairs, but I have left Shouichi-kun and Spanner to make sure the kids don't interrupt anything just in case." Gokudera leaned in and lowly spoke something to his Tenth before stepping back to his position at the door, and the Decimo made a noise of realisation before turning back to the two mafiosi.

"Do you mind, Gamma-san? Kikyo-san?" he finished, and the two "right-hand men" of their bosses nodded. Satisfied, the brunette disappeared for the stairs before quickly reappearing with a curly-haired boy on his shoulder that could briefly be recognised as his lightning guardian. Boss and guardians left the household for their meeting, leaving the former members of the future Millefiore as well as the additional mafiosi oblivious to the history of betrayal and bloodshed between said members.

* * *

Hanging out at the Sawada household wasn't uncommon among the Vongola members who resided in Namimori. After Tsuna held the meeting that decided the final results of the Arcobaleno Representative Battle, it felt like just about anyone could come there without causing a suffocating atmosphere. Imagining Xanxus willingly in the same room as Tsuna was difficult enough — Byakuran and the tenth generation Vongola guardians seated at a table together was nigh impossible. That both circumstances were met in one meeting, _anyone_ would feel comfortable coming to the Sawada Residence. When Shouichi and Spanner arrived to simply hang out as they tinkered with parts one day, however, they were mildly surprised to see the makings of Millefiore crowded in the house.

Greetings from Tsuna caught their attention right after, and with a brief explanation of what was happening, Tsuna then continued on to describe a sudden request from him. "Bianchi is out shopping with my mom to keep her out of the house during the meeting," Tsuna informed, "and Fuuta, I-Pin, and Lambo are upstairs playing. I know this is unexpected, but the Ninth called for a sudden meeting of me and my guardians, and Reborn has already gone ahead to some secure location for us to speak with the Ninth on the phone. Do you two mind ensuring that the kids upstairs don't interrupt Millefiore's meeting?"

Refusing the brunette was hard when he looked so worn. By the time Tsuna had finished speaking and Spanner and Shouichi had accepted Tsuna's request, most of Millefiore's members had left the dining room for the living room, and Gokudera was already in the house to escort his boss to the secure location.

Tsuna quickly relayed the situation to Gamma and Kikyo in Italian after Shouichi and Spanner gave their answer, and with a quiet reminder from his storm guardian, Tsuna retrieved Lambo — who disliked being left out of anything and Tsuna oddly enough listened — before the three left the house.

The mafiosi in the room were either seated at the low Japanese table in the living room or standing in attention as was habit, and Shouichi didn't miss how all six Funeral Wreaths, as well as Gamma and his honorary younger brothers were in the same room, with Shouichi and Spanner expected to "supervise" until the meeting was over. Shouichi fingered the headphones hanging around his neck. Was wearing them considered disrespectful while waiting for mafia bosses to finish their meeting? Shouichi glanced at the inhabitants of the room again.

Oh, to _heck_ with disrespect. He needed his music if he wanted to leave the room _alive, conscious,_ and _without_ stomach pains — or at least, without the major kinds.

Shouichi had sat down in an unoccupied spot at the low living room table and closed his eyes as Blood & Peppers played through his headphones, when at one point through the song, someone beyond the music was calling for Shouichi's attention in Japanese.

"You've got guts."

Shouichi opened his eyes and looked up to settle his gaze on a blonde man with a notably fresher appearance than the man Shouichi knew — or had known from the future, if one got technical. Spanner had made himself comfortable next to Shouichi — sucking on a lollipop and fiddling with his small laptop, as he obviously couldn't sit still for too long with his mind buzzing with ideas — so Shouichi understood that the blonde man sitting across from him had addressed solely Shouichi. Lost on how to act with Gamma, a former fellow "coworker" of Millefiore and a former ally during the final battle against the real Funeral Wreaths and Byakuran, Shouichi blinked for a beat at Gamma's statement.

"Sometimes I wonder about that."

His response must have left some sort of impression on the famous Giglio Nero member since the young Gamma chuckled. Shouichi inwardly pouted. With guts or without, the auburnette at least felt confident in that _something_ must be wrong with his stomach if it could produce great enough pains to make him double over, wincing, whenever he was over-stressed.

"I mean to say," Gamma finally got over his brief show of amusement, "you had guts to plan overthrowing an individual like Byakuran since your first year of college." Shouichi was lost on a response to that, as well. He had been told many times that he had the insight, complexity, and planning of a genius, and Spanner and future Giannini had stated themselves that they thought of Shouichi as a rival. Even without knowing how Shouichi manipulated circumstances and organisations as the only one next to Byakuran and Uni in terms of power in Millefiore for his betrayal to be successful, people had voiced over and again how they respected Shouichi as a bright-minded individual.

"Vongola or Millefiore, in the end you're not one for politics, are you?" Gamma went on, and Shouichi finally deigned the blonde's words with a response — that is, a raise of a brow. Shouichi did not ask for clarification on Gamma's meaning for such a question; he was already several steps ahead in the conversation from the moment Gamma spoke. In reality, he was curious as to Gamma's reason for bringing such topics up. Reading the silence, Gamma continued.

"The only reason you joined Vongola was because it was the famiglia that had the rings that could defy Millefiore's Mare rings on an equal level," the blonde stated, and the two didn't have to speak to understand that he didn't mention the Arcobaleno pacifiers because those were under Uni's care at the time he spoke of, and that using the pacifiers for offence never was an intent of Uni's even before the creation of Millefiore.

"You could have ultimately joined Gesso, Giglio Nero, or 'Millefiore' so long as a solution to the future Trinisette crisis could be found through those famiglias. In fact, you wouldn't currently be in _any_ famiglia at all if you didn't have to." "Except that I already promised an alliance with the future Tsunayoshi-kun, hence my being a Vongola member today," Shouichi finally spoke, startling a few listening in on the conversation at the sudden sound of his voice. Slipping his headphones off to rest around his neck, Shouichi sent a tired gaze to Gamma. "What is your point, Gamma-san?"

Nosaru and Tazaru glanced at each other and at Gamma. Their respected big brother believed in efficient speech that conveyed messages with the least number of words, but as the auburn-haired squad capt—eh, the _Vongola member_ had noticed, Gamma was being quite talkative.

"Curiosity," Gamma finally replied. When his face softened a notch as he would when thinking of Aria or Uni, Nosaru and Tazaru relaxed in the familiarity of the physiognomy. "In light of recent events, I wonder how children can act in a self-confidence and determination adults struggle to have." "A first year university student is hardly a child, Gamma-san," Shouichi reminded. "Ah, but even at this age, you were aiding your future self in endeavours no one else would have pursued." At this, the auburnette fell silent, unable to deny Gamma's words.

"Is it perhaps," Shouichi began, and when his lips twitched in a brief smile, those listening leaned in a little, "that besides Uni-san, Gamma-san looks up to Tsunayoshi-kun and his guardians as well?" At Gamma's slight shock and resulting silence, everyone knew Shouichi had hit a bull's eye on understanding Gamma's character. A few were silently impressed how quickly the fifteen-year-old drew out enough from Gamma to get a grasp of the workings of the blonde's heart.

The only reason Shouichi was able to act this way and speak comfortably with an adult — and an experienced, respected mafioso, much less — was his lack of realisation that _other_ mafiosi were paying attention to his and Gamma's conversation. Unbeknownst to Shouichi, his calm and clear-gazed demeanour reminded former Millefiore members from the future that the auburn-haired teenager before them was still spiritually the ten years later Irie Shouichi they knew: Millefiore's youngest captain, head of the White Spell's 2nd Rose Squad, and would-have-been-Sun Funeral Wreath if Byakuran had not known of Shouichi planning to betray him all along.

Kikyo wasn't entirely dumb, either. He knew Byakuran originally favoured the real Funeral Wreaths only for their flame prowess and loyalty, and among them, Kikyo was the only one with the brains and leadership capacity to handle the five of them when Byakuran wasn't around to give direct instructions. If not for their flame abilities, and Irie Shouichi's originally defying intent, Kikyo recognised and begrudgingly acknowledged that the auburn-haired ma—_child_ was most suited for the role as Byakuran's right-hand man and — dare he think it — trusted Funeral Wreath.

What was this about the Vongola X Generation, though? Perhaps the child-boss was a _little_ powerful, intuitive, and strong-hearted — Byakuran-sama wouldn't let himself be beaten by just _anyone_ — and from what Kikyo could understand, Gamma and the Tenth's Storm Guardian had some sort of right-hand man understanding going on between them, but for the blonde man to _look_ _up_ to the entire group of child-guardians? Irie Shouichi obviously understood something Kikyo missed, as the auburnette finally gave a small, secretive smile meant for Gamma to notice.

"Gamma-san, are you wondering something along the lines of, 'why do such small people try to put up with so much?'" Shouichi asked, and Gamma finally shook himself out of his surprise. When the blonde man opened his mouth, however, the meeting room door opened, and everyone straightened up to greet their respective bosses as they stepped out. A stack of papers were in Byakuran and Uni's hands each, no doubt describing the process of the merging of their two famiglias, but in a way, it was already official.

Millefiore was born.

* * *

Tsuna returned home with Lambo, Gokudera, and Reborn, the brunette wearing a grim expression. The Millefiore group was gone already, but Shouichi, Spanner, Fuuta, and I-Pin were at the ground floor. Spanner had employed I-Pin to help him with small parts of a project that was moved to the backyard just in case something blew up, and Lambo quickly joined them in hopes of getting lollipops from Spanner, Gokudera following suite due to his Tenth's wishes. Shouichi seemed to be in the middle of revealing something to Fuuta when Tsuna, Lambo, Gokudera, and Reborn had arrived, and with a secretive pleading glance at Reborn from Tsuna, the hitman reluctantly left for another room as Tsuna joined Shouichi at the living room table.

"Here."

Fuuta watched curiously as Shouichi pushed a laptop towards him. Fuuta's "princely" crest was printed on the laptop, identifying it as his, and with the screen closed shut, two halves of a handle were clicked together to make the durable laptop resemble a miniature briefcase. Fuuta opened and turned on the laptop to discover a software installed that made recording and accessing his rankings very easy. Shouichi rubbed his head, slightly embarrassed in his sudden present.

"I was a little bored, to be honest, but I made sure it has the uttermost safe and secure system so that no one can hack it. It has long battery life, and it's also bulletproof and grenade-proof, just in case." Tsuna watched with a smile on his face as Fuuta tackled Shouichi in a hug with a, "Thanks, Shou-nii!" Shouichi's face froze at that, and Tsuna understood the auburnette's reaction. For Shouichi, it was startling to hear the shortened version of his name from a child who meant well and did not know that the last person to call Shouichi by the nickname was someone he was still torn between treating as a past friend or an enemy.

When Fuuta let go and smiled at Shouichi, the auburnette's face cleared and he smiled back, and Fuuta excitedly left the Sawada living room to transfer his rankings from his book to his new laptop. Tsuna sat down with Shouichi at the low Japanese dining table situated in the middle of the living room. "You made Fuuta look like Christmas came early," the brunette joked, and Shouichi laughed as he fiddled with parts, no doubt engaging in another project. "The last time I made a laptop was for Byakuran-san," he admitted, "but that was years ago when we were still in university…." His voice trailed off, and his hands didn't stop moving, but Tsuna knew his friend had recognised the oddities of his speech.

"Did Byakuran choose you as the 'Sun Funeral Wreath' because of your flames, or did he make his decision before he knew of your attribute?" Tsuna asked, and Shouichi glanced at the young don, inwardly grateful the brunette wasn't hesitant to talk about the future with Shouichi. Everyone else mostly acted awkward about it. "I don't know," Shouichi replied. "I may have influenced his choice, however." When Tsuna raised a brow, Shouichi's face flushed in embarrassment. "In the future, when Byakuran-san had recently became boss and had discovered I liked sunsets, he relocated me to a west-side office room facing the most stunning sunset anyone could ever see."

Tsuna smiled softly in thought. "That's right…Shouichi-kun is like that." At Shouichi's confused look, Tsuna explained. "Onii-san is like the midday sun, which shines the most when on top of the world in full energy. Shouichi-kun is like the sunset, which is most brilliant when touching the limitless horizon, much like the sea." Shouichi's head shot up to look at Tsuna, surprised how the brunette summed up the differences between him and the tenth generation sun guardian so quickly and easily. Tsuna's intuition sparked, and he added, "Don't think highly of me, Shouichi-kun, because while I understand this…Byakuran does too."

Shouichi fell silent in thought at that. Tsuna continued. "You are not oblivious to my worried glances, I know, but I think one thing you aren't aware of is how, when you look at me, you see Byakuran." Shouichi immediately felt guilty and opened mouth to speak, but Tsuna put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you talk with him? Maybe then, you can decide if he's someone you want to call a friend or not." "But Tsunayoshi-kun!" Shouichi protested, metal parts forgotten in his hands, "Byakuran-san will talk in circles and lead me around until I leave with him learning something from me, and with me only as confused as when I came!" Tsuna chuckled at his friend's reaction. "If there's one thing Reborn has instilled in me, it's that you never know what you can do until you try." Shouichi looked away in thought, before he smiled. "Thank you, Tsunayoshi-kun."

As Tsuna watched the auburn-haired teen leave the room, his lips thinned. The results of Byakuran and Shouichi's talk could save or end Shouichi's life. According to the Ninth, the upper echelon of Vongola had already made their decision regarding the auburn-haired teen. All that was left was for Tsuna and his guardians to make theirs — and the deadline was the end of today.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone agreed that Irie Shouichi was a wild card — he could help make or break Vongola if he so wished to, as everyone with memories or experience of the war-torn future couldn't deny his intellect and manipulation abilities. Gamma wasn't the only one to notice how Shouichi wasn't the kind to be in any sort of political group, either; Shouichi was the type to think in black and white, and just as he helped crumble and destroy Millefiore by using another famiglia, he could just as readily do similarly to Vongola if it meant saving the world.

When rumours spread of the Gesso-Giglio Nero strategist — his origins still debated due to certain mafiosi including the Tenth Generation keeping their mouths shut — it naturally disturbed Vongola over its genius — and potentially dangerous — new member, and the flustered state of the upper echelon only magnified in the auburnette's close proximity with the boss candidate. Of those concerned with the membership of one Irie Shouichi, only the future Decimo and his guardians themselves had not announced agreeing with kicking Shouichi out or killing him.

Somewhere in Italy, some Vongola mafiosi reacted to their superiors' restlessness, as if sensing the countdown to one Irie Shouichi's fate. The staff of the Vongola mansion were especially sensitive, including one guard named Pierro, who prided himself in knowing the latest gossip in and around the Vongola Famiglia.

Pierro was a loyal member of the famiglia, though a bit laid back in nature, but he knew who to make friends with and who not to anger, so he got along with his fellow Vongola mafiosi famously. The cooks of the Vongola mansion were probably Pierro's favourite mafiosi; not much past an honest compliment over their efficiency or cooking was needed to please them, and they knew the most about happenings in the famiglia before anyone else did.

It was during clean-up that Pierro found himself smoking just outside the kitchen door — so as not to anger the kitchen staff; they were worse than a pack of lions, Pierro swore — conversing with the cooks and inwardly frowning at the news he was hearing.

"…It looks like only Nono and a few of his guardians want Irie in the famiglia. Everyone else wants the boy out of the famiglia or killed," a cook finished, and Pierro hummed in thought.

"What of the Tenth?" Pierro asked from the doorway. Of the big names and titles the cooks had mentioned so far, there was a concerning absence in the conversation of the tenth generation who had introduced Irie to the famiglia.

A cook's lips thinned in thought before replying. "His guardians are silent on the matter. It appears they are following his will, but are aware of the possible repercussions of officially supporting an unpredictable figure like Shouichi Irie. Decimo has spoken of allowing Irie to stay, but has yet to officially decide. For now, he's fending off Signor Reborn from keeping a constant eye on Irie." The ex-Arcobaleno was a hitman; killing a child wouldn't be the first time. No doubt the Tenth knew his tutor's intentions in wanting to watch over Irie.

Pierro sighed. "This is no good. The only superiors who haven't decided on an opinion are the Tenth and his guardians, and their statements are the most important."

The cooks nodded, and another spoke up. "Members of the famiglia are stirring, as well. Some have voiced their dislike for an indecisive future boss."

Pierro glanced out a nearby window, partly to watch the smoke of his cigarette dance away, partly to lose himself in thought. _What are you thinking right now, Decimo?_

* * *

Tsuna anxiously tapped his pencil against his open math book, but no one's minds were on their homework. Tsuna and his guardians had gathered in the living room once Shouichi had left under the guise of a group study session since Nana was most likely on her way home from the shopping trip already, but anyone who looked properly could see the unsettling tension — or was it stress? — lying in the children's forms. Reborn seemed to be the only one unaffected, except for his displeasure at his student's caution over Shouichi's safety that Tsuna had decided that he'd make sure Reborn and Shouichi weren't in the same room for the rest of the day.

Hibari sent an annoyed look at Tsuna, and the tapping stopped, but Tsuna looked no less worried. "We were given a very small window of time to decide our opinions on Shouichi-kun," Tsuna suddenly sighed in the thick silence, and everyone's eyes turned to him. Tsuna wanted to massage his temples as he thought about his day so far. "I wish Nono had at least given us a heads up when the idea of deciding whether or not to kill Shouichi-kun started coming up in Vongola back in Italy."

It wasn't really to kill or not to kill; the three main options were allowing Shouichi to stay in the famiglia, kick the redhead out where he could be assassinated by anyone wary of his abilities, or kill the redhead without bothering to kick him out. Tsuna didn't like how most of Vongola seemed to favour the latter two options.

"It's training," Reborn said like it explained everything. "He's preparing you to be able to make tough decisions quickly."

Some of those in the room frowned, but said nothing. When Tsuna straightened up a bit, everyone knew he had allowed himself a moment of worry but was now returning to the conversation as their boss. "I want Shouichi to live," Tsuna said, and his guardians nodded. They had all voiced in their own manner that they trusted Tsuna's decision and would support it.

For Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Chrome, it was out of fondness for Tsuna and gratitude for Shouichi's past dedication in helping them out. Lambo had said that he liked the funny stomach ache-prone guy enough. Mukuro had basically spoken for himself and Hibari, though considering the pair's dislike for anything related to Jäger, it wasn't too surprising.

"_Irie Shouichi was one of the creators of the decoy puppets that helped lead to the defeat Vendicare,"_ the illusionist had stated simply. Anyone who had a hand in beating Vendicare was good enough in Mukuro's books.

Tsuna pulled himself out of his thoughts. "From what I understand of the dominant opinion over in Italy, almost no one wants Shouichi-kun part of Vongola or alive, which is why I'm concerned over the voting. If there's a majority vote against Shouichi-kun, there's not much I can do — unless," Tsuna looked at Reborn, "the process is different for Vongola." Yamamoto looked lost as well. "None of us really knows how Vongola works," the swordsman acknowledged.

Reborn met Tsuna's eyes. "All of your guardians including yourself don't come from or don't have a background in Vongola like the boss and guardians of the past eight generations," Reborn laid out their disadvantage, plain and simple. "At least half of us have experience with the mafia," Tsuna pointed out hopefully. "After what has happened over the course of the year, I'd say we all do," Gokudera spoke up, "but if you speak according to length of time, Jyuudaime, don't include the dumb cow."

"You can speak Italian, though, right Lambo?" Tsuna turned to the Bovino.

"_Vecchio_ always did, but nanny taught me her words!" Lambo was quick to answer. Tsuna inwardly sweat dropped at the child's statement. As Tsuna was becoming more familiar with Italian courtesy to Reborn and Gokudera's tutoring, and due to his experience hearing Xanxus's mixed Italian-Japanese speech, Tsuna understood that Lambo had referred to the boss of the Bovino Famiglia as "old man." Was the Bovino don Lambo's father? On another note, Lambo's nanny was apparently the one responsible for Lambo's knowledge of Japanese?

"The decision doesn't run so much by vote as it does by a matter of opinion," Reborn began explaining, cutting off Tsuna's train of thought. "If everyone at the table agrees with one course of action to be dealt on the individual considered, then the act is carried out. If even one person opposes everyone's opinion, however, the conclusion becomes Cervello's to decide."

"Okay," Tsuna said, and he thoughtfully nodded with a determined air. "We can work with that."

* * *

After the "group study session," Gokudera stayed behind to help his tenth tidy up the living room. The silverette had noticed that despite a lengthy emount of time having had passed since he had entered the Sawada residence, Shouichi was still absent.

"Jyuudaime?" he asked. Tsuna's eyes were far off, but they snapped back to the present at the sound of Gokudera's voice. "Sorry, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna apologised for his distracted state with a smile. The Tenth was usually like that when he had a lot on his plate; Gokudera made a mental note to check with Reborn over the brunette's schedule.

In the present, Gokudera shuffled in place. "Where is Irie?" he asked. "I sent him to talk with Byakuran and maybe rekindle their friendship," Tsuna replied honestly. Most likely, he knew Gokudera's motive behind helping clean up besides genuinely wanting to help. Gokudera hesitated. "Does Jyuudaime want Irie to leave Vongola?"

Tsuna didn't exactly look away in worry or guilt, but he did tiredly gesture for the both of them to sit down. "I know many officials will vote for killing Shouichi-kun, however…I never want to be an obstacle to anyone's friendship. If Shouichi is voted out of the famiglia, I can protect him from possible assassination attempts. That would be an act opposing Vongola, but…" Tsuna sighed, torn between his emotions. "Is," Tsuna bit his lip, "Is that bad?

Gokudera smiled softly. "Jyuudaime cares for people individually. That is why I follow your will."

* * *

Behind the door was a teenager who was recovering from a fatal injury, but for one reason or another, Shouichi found it difficult to even knock in apprehension of what said teenager would do. Byakuran was usually the type who would accept rest and medical attention for a day, but past that…well, the row of destroyed hospital rooms in Namimori Hospital could attest to the white-haired teen's limit, although he had help from individuals like Xanxus and Hibari….

Gamma had quickly directed Shouichi to the location of Byakuran's room with near-pleads to _get the disaster to stay in bed for at least an hour _when Shouichi approached the villa Millefiore was renting, and if Byakuran thought Shouichi was the back up to Millefiore's medical squad, Shouichi didn't think his desire to speak with the white-haired teen would be fulfilled.

Falling on his butt due to his knees weakening in apprehensive thought, Shouichi massaged his eyes. Maybe if he opened the door from the floor, any thermometer or other projectile thrown by Byakuran would miss Shouichi. The auburnette would have maybe five seconds to quickly say what he could before he'd be mowed down by marshmallows.

"Shou-chan?"

_Holy Mosca, he heard my thoughts!_ Shouichi turned to see Byakuran standing behind him, but the white-haired teen showed no sign of knowing the battle plan that was running through Shouichi's mind, instead giving the usual closed-eyed smile. "Did Shou-chan get a stomachache?"

Never mind. The marshmallow teen must have interpreted Shouichi's reason for being in front of his door to be Millefiore's last hope in getting him to stay in bed long enough, and that the auburnette's stomach was hurting in nervousness at the task he was given. While Shouichi himself wouldn't be surprised if he was having a stomach ulcer, the lack of pain made the idea false, but he nodded anyway and stood up. "Byakuran-san is sharp, as always," Shouichi grinned sheepishly.

Byakuran's eyes widened minutely, before they closed again in a content, cat-like smile. "Shou-chan truly is the most reliably interesting person I know." Shouichi knew Byakuran nearly fell for his lie — a near-accomplishment no one else could do like the auburnette. After all, how else could the two best friends have ultimately betrayed each other, and even have had a hand in nearly taking the other's life? Byakuran was a master manipulator, and Shouichi was a master strategist whose back up plans had back ups. Their friendship had been unique — Shouichi was a complex-hearted being, and Byakuran liked unlocking and playing with hearts. Shouichi was the only puzzle Byakuran encountered that, as he got one piece closer to completing the puzzle, Shouichi would get one step closer to understanding _him_.

Byakuran leaned back on one foot with his hands in his pockets, curious over the real reason for the auburnette's presence in front of his door. "What is Shou-chan here for?"

"A friend."

Byakuran's eyes suddenly fully opened, and he stared at Shouichi in mute surprise. The auburnette offered a small, genuine smile, confirming he meant what he said. Byakuran tackled him in a hug with a, "Shou-chan!" and for the first time in a long time, Shouichi laughed in Byakuran's presence. In just one meeting, the two had cleared away any doubts that obstructed their being able to have the genuine friendship they once had and secretly — to never be admitted even under the pain of death — missed.

It was still tough getting Byakuran to stay in bed, though.

* * *

When Shouichi returned to the Sawada household and looked at Tsuna without a distant gaze in thinking of Byakuran, Tsuna knew his auburnette friend had finally come to an inner peace. With Shouichi still considering himself a member of Vongola and not wishing to transfer to Millefiore despite rekindling his friendship with Byakuran, Tsuna knew for a fact that Shouichi was someone he could trust as part of Vongola.

Having made his decision, Tsuna confidently joined his guardians and Reborn to leave for the hotel ballroom floor rented for this occasion. In the ballroom, holograms and a table were set up, and the group seated themselves at one side of the table with Tsuna in the middle. The holograms turned on when the time of the meeting began, and the ballroom was filled with a real-life projection of a large meeting room in Italy, important heads of the different branches of Vongola all seated at the table. The Ninth and his guardians were across from Tsuna and his guardians at the "table," and occupying three chairs' worth of space at one side of the table were three standing Cervello women, with the female in the middle obviously of higher rank.

The men and women at the table were no doubt informed in the recent official "birth" of Millefiore and of Shouichi's connections with a member of the new famiglia due to Tsuna having told the Ninth earlier that day and the Ninth in turn sharing the info with his guardians, where the news leaked down from there. In Italian, the men and women at the table announced their opinions on whether Shouichi Irie was to stay as a member of Vongola or was to be killed or kicked out of the famiglia, and Nono and his guardians gave mixed opinions, with only the Ninth and a few of his guardians agreeing Shouichi should stay.

When announcements went around the table and reached the tenth generation, Tsuna stated he was for Shouichi staying, to which his guardians followed suite. After everyone finished sharing their opinions, a middle-aged man stood up in his chair, addressing Tsuna's decision.

"I protest!" he began loudly. "Shouichi Irie is a threat to this famiglia! It is said he is close to a member of the new Millefiore Famiglia, which can rival Vongola in influence!" _Here it comes,_ Tsuna thought, and he stood up to formally speak as well.

"Threat?" Tsuna made sure to look straight into the man's eyes. "Quite the contrary. Shouichi-kun is one of Vongola's most loyal members. There was a time where he sacrificed his privacy, dreams, and nearly his life for the survival of this famiglia — he has fulfilled the role of a sun to his uttermost best."

The middle-aged man wasn't deterred by Tsuna's claim. "I have never heard of this!" he insisted. Tsuna's lips thinned. "What Shouichi-kun did is off the records, but my guardians, Reborn, and Nono can attest to my statement."

This time, a Cervello woman spoke up. "Is this true, Nono?" "What Tsuna claims is no lie," the Ninth confirmed. The man who stood up was still sticking with his opinion. "Self-sacrificing or not, we cannot deny Shouichi Irie's connections with the Millefiore Famiglia. What if he still believes Millefiore to be a private ally when it becomes a threat to Vongola? An unreliable character like Irie has to be dealt with swiftly in the beginning."

Tsuna began to realise the true difficulty of politics. In order for situations to be dealt with justly, decisions like this one centred on Shouichi had to be based off logic, and not emotion. How could Tsuna convey Shouichi's good will? Even as a boss candidate, if Tsuna began speaking his heart, he could be accused of emotionally appealing to the Ninth — in fact, it was _especially_ because he was a boss candidate that Tsuna shouldn't do so, as it would heavily hurt his image to members of the famiglia and make it appear like Tsuna only knew how to give speeches and not resolve problems readily and rationally.

Tsuna remembered the sight of Fuuta hugging Shouichi in gratitude over his new laptop, and of an older, wounded Shouichi lying on pavement with a marker over his heart dry of sun flames. If Millefiore became a threat to Vongola, Tsuna doubted Shouichi would abandon Vongola so easily.

Gazing at many of the men and women before him, Tsuna could see how they depended on Vongola's traditional reasoning on how to deal with members. Inwardly, he pouted. Humans weren't robots; they had their own kind of intuition and way of reading people, and hard facts didn't always explain the reason behind _why_ such facts were what they were. Shouichi was friends with Byakuran, but in a way, so was Tsuna, though not to the same extent. Nono had said Tsuna was the wind of change Vongola needed, so Tsuna decided he'd point out a course of action the mafiosi before him had called for that had been an old-fashioned idea and nearly disastrous.

"I myself still thought of the Shimon Famiglia as friends even when they declared war on us," Tsuna began, "and if I had gone into battle against them with the intent to kill like _many_ of you seemed to favour and voice at the time, we would not have known of Daemon Spade's existence and the true history between the Vongola and Shimon Famiglias."

Fact faced fact, and Tsuna inwardly cheered when he managed to defend Shouichi in a way that the mafioso before him acknowledged with a responding silence as he sat down. After Tsuna seated himself as well and no one else stood up to oppose either opinion, the high-ranked Cervello woman cleared her throat.

"Shouichi Irie has fulfilled the roles that a devoted member of the Vongola Famiglia would do according to Tsunayoshi Sawada's statement and Nono's confirmation," she stated. "It is decided: Shouichi Irie will stay as part of the Vongola famiglia — however, he will be under probation for one year. Cervello shall supervise him for that period."

* * *

It almost pained Tsuna with guilt how Shouichi was completely understanding and unoffended over Tsuna's need for secrecy and caution. As for Cervello, true to their word, they sent their own women to supervise Shouichi. The redhead's new company was a pair of women — pink-haired and nearly identical, as was the nature of Cervello's members — named Destra and Sinistra, and they, like their names, followed Shouichi everywhere on his left and right side and a little behind him, almost like guards. Spanner was the first Shouichi turned to when the redhead realised that his pink shadows were supposed to follow him for no less than a year.

Spanner sucked hard on his lollipop, willing his features to remain straight-faced, but when Shouichi stared unamused at him, the blonde's lips twitched. "Sh-Shouichi," he greeted, stumbling on the first syllable due to a chortle bubbling up in his throat. "You're laughing at me," Shouichi stated. "No I'm nnnn…" Spanner looked away, his body shaking in silent laughter. Shouichi sighed, and Spanner laughed harder, finally aloud for the world to hear.

Turning to face his friend again, Spanner cleared his throat, but his breath betrayed him with a, "Pfft." Shouichi's brow twitched at his friend's reaction. Spanner held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Still, doesn't this look…familiar?"

Shouichi was standing at Spanner's apartment door with Destra and Sinistra behind him on either side, Spanner himself in his apartment having just opened his door when Shouichi rang the doorbell. The Cervello women were dressed in the currently popular Japanese female clothing in order to "blend in," and Shouichi had come in his favourite turquoise shirt with a red stripe going across it, and khaki pants.

The sight of attractive, identical females on either side of a casually dressed and meek "nerd" was odd enough — that Spanner could imagine his friend in an "evil genius" persona with the young women as faithful subordinates made the clashing but similar images evoke much amusement from Spanner.

"Familiar?" Destra echoed, trying to understand the blonde friend of the boy under her charge. Spanner vaguely gestured at the auburnette before him. "This isn't the first time I've seen women hanging on each arm of—"

Shouichi whacked Spanner with a folder.

"They weren't _hanging,_ they were," "—Serving?" Spanner finished, and Shouichi's face flushed to a similar colour to his hair as he scrambled to whack his friend again. Spanner laughed. "Following orders?" he went on, and Shouichi chased him into the apartment with a now bent folder. When they calmed down, Spanner invited Shouichi to sit with him at his kitchen table, where Destra and Sininstra sat at their respective sides by Shouichi while Spanner was directly across from the redhead.

"What's the folder for?" Spanner asked, and Shouichi opened it, allowing his friend to look. "I'm moving in next door to you. I decided that in light of my recent situation, I should live away from my mom and sister — at least until my probation is over." Spanner hummed in thought, before he burst in laughter again. "You shouldn't hide from your family that these two ladies _just can't leave you alone._" Shouichi glared at him. "I hope you choke on your lollipop and die laughing."

Spanner laughed his heart out anyway.

* * *

**A/N: Pierro isn't gone — he ****will**** show up in future chapters. As for updating, I may have to diverge from a weekly update to maybe every other week due to my current inspiration over Bleach and Assassin's Creed ;p**

**Thank you so much for supporting me so far! Keep the reviews coming — the more I see, the faster I update! Also, for more Shouichi, you can go to my 51-centric fic, **_**Mafia Science Convention**_**. **


	4. Chapter 4

Kurokawa Hana's eyes swept her classroom with a lazy pace but a sharp awareness. With the end of middle school in sight, excitement had started bubbling up in the third year section of Namichuu, and a few students and teachers had even started contemplating summer vacation plans.

The teachers were notably looking forward to the future, having had quite the rough batch of students this year — Hana snorted at this, knowing that it was inevitable what with Namichuu hosting mafiosi students — and the average third year student smiled more often as the weeks counted down.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, apparently, was not the average third year student.

Of course, the brunette smiled more often than he did as Dame-Tsuna several months ago, but the summer vacation jitters had not gotten a hold of him yet, and Hana raised a brow when her classmate _yawned_ in the middle of the classroom practically sparkling in excitement as if he was oblivious to it. Hana stood up.

"Rokudo."

Heterochromatic eyes lazily went up to meet Hana's own charcoal pair. She had purposefully chosen to talk to the male transfer student while Chrome was distracted in a conversation with Kyoko and a few blushing admirers. "Kurokawa," Mukuro acknowledged, the hint of emphasised syllables betraying his Italian upbringing. He didn't ask why Hana had approached him and only silently expected an explanation; he was like an aristocrat like that. Hana inwardly huffed, but she needed information.

"Sawada shouldn't have that much work outside class and homework like everyone else, so why does it look like he hasn't slept well recently?" Hana asked. Mukuro inwardly frowned at her straightforward, borderline demanding, character. She reminded him of the boxing sun guardian in that matter. "Hm. I don't know why," Mukuro replied with a glance at the subject of conversation. Mukuro had noticed it too, but had not said anything of it. If Tsunayoshi was having nightmares again…Reborn would be having heads roll.

Mukuro regarded his female company with unreadable eyes. "You don't really trust Tsunayoshi-kun," he observed. Hana had the decency to not deny it, and she exhaled in confirmation. "His actions and character support Kyoko's description of him, but I can't believe that a truly kind person can _stay_ kind as a criminal." Which was why she had to know the flow of Tsuna's daily life in order to be able to read the brunette the best she could.

Tsuna's genuine behaviour had convinced Hana enough to trust Kyoko with him when Hana got stuck at school as a Student Council member, but Hana didn't trust Tsuna one-hundred percent yet. The Namimori rumour mill was in Hana's palm, but truths regarding Tsuna and his inner circle of friends existed frustratingly outside of it. Hana's only option besides asking Kyoko about details was to keep tabs on the brunette.

"I once thought like you did." Hana was startled to hear a confession from her mysterious classmate. Mukuro wasn't looking at her anymore, only gazing at Tsuna. "You should ask him why he's tired yourself, Kurokawa," Mukuro said, and that was when Hana knew that the private air of their conversation was over, "sometimes, the best way to understand someone is not to beat around the bush."

* * *

Bosses of two famiglias that hated each other were coming to Namimori. _Today_. Tsuna wanted to slump over his desk and cry. Not only were the bosses going to be in the same town, but Nono was expecting Tsuna to have them in the same room without them trying to kill each other.

Apparently, as the bosses were currently closer to Japan than they were to Italy, Nono hoped for a disagreement between them to be resolved by Tsuna instead of the bosses coming to Italy in a worse mood for Nono to deal with. _It's training,_ Reborn had said. Yeah, right. Grandfather was probably just letting his devious old man side out a bit; Xanxus wasn't the cranky but sharp character he was simply by _nature_.

"You alright, Sawada?" Tsuna had sensed Hana approach before she spoke, and he smiled at her tiredly. "Just worried. Two bosses of companies allied with my grandfather's are coming over today. I've been anxious, but I think I'll be okay once this day is over." He never said anything mafia-related outright in defence against possible eavesdroppers. Hana nodded, understanding Tsuna's message.

"You're not telling me everything, though," Hana sensed. Tsuna only smiled. _I'm going to host my first meeting as the official boss candidate, and me or two other bosses might get hospitalised before the day will end._ "Everyone has a right to privacy," Tsuna said instead, and rose when Gokudera and Yamamoto approached to walk him home, protective friends they were.

Hana stared after him, miffed. For an expressive individual — even for a civilian — Sawada Tsunayoshi was quite natural in keeping secrets with most of Namimori's civilians none the wiser and the rest of the civilians like Hana unable to press him for more unless they wanted to be rude to _such a genuinely compassionate soul,_ Kyoko's words.

Hana swore that Sawada's kindness could be a lethal weapon.

* * *

When Nono decided to get Tsuna involved as the boss candidate, it meant less paperwork coming to the old man and instead being given to Tsuna, much to the teen's sorrow. For the rest of the school semester, Tsuna had had to maintain A's at school and an image of an efficient, thorough boss candidate as judged by how soon and well he got his paperwork done.

This was the reason behind Tsuna's weariness despite the end of the school year closing in, making Tsuna wish not for the first time that he hadn't asked Reborn for a break. Either _break_ wasn't in the hitman's vocabulary, or mentally following the word was _Dame-Tsuna's spirits._

"You said you wanted a break," Reborn's voice interrupted Tsuna's inward contemplation over his tutor's messed up vocabulary, "no battles, no painful waking methods, no extra studying for school." Tsuna whirled on Reborn, sharp fountain pen dangerously in his hand.

"_This_ is not a break, Reborn, this is the exact opposite! I've been holed up in my room after school, facing my worst enemy yet!" Reborn raised a brow. "Oh?" "Paperwork!" Tsuna threw his hands in the air. "And it's not something that can be fixed with heartfelt speeches or dying will flames…!" Tsuna trailed off, and Reborn glared.

"You burn those papers, your training regime gets doubled."

"I'll take my chances."

"I'll sic Hibari on you."

"I'll sic _Dad_ on you. And I'll tell him how you made me run around in only my boxers at school where all the girls could see me."

Reborn gritted his teeth. If there was one thing he learned from his times working with the CEDEF leader, it was that Iemitsu was a very devoted husband and father who wouldn't hand over his wife or son to anyone so easily — something the man made sure to voice every chance he got alongside praising his angels back home complete with pictures stuffed in a wallet. Yes, Iemitsu was definitely a family man, though family or Family, one couldn't be too sure what with his devotion to Vongola and his equivalent gushing over his wife and son.

Either way, Iemitsu in "daddy mode" was an unstoppable force whose praises for his angelic wife and adorable son could go on forever until the man either passed out drunk, or everyone around him finally committed suicide. Iemitsu in "daddy mode" having heard his only son was exposed to the sight of many females was nothing short of a nightmare even Reborn had to acknowledge.

Reborn jumped off the window sill to the floor — making a deeper thump than he was used to; he had grown an inch the past several weeks — and moved to sit on Tsuna's bed with a view of his student and the door.

"Each boss will be bringing a wingman to your meeting today," Reborn informed.

"Don't change the subject!"

The click of the door opening sounded over Tsuna's outburst, and Gokudera entered, mindful of the stacks of mafia-related papers on the low table in the middle of the room; the bedroom's desk was usually reserved for only schoolwork.

After Gokudera and Yamamoto had finished their school homework — and helped Tsuyoshi out with the restaurant and restocked on dynamite respectively — they came to the Sawada residence to hang out with Tsuna. Downstairs, Yamamoto had been distracted by catching an inactive grenade like it was a baseball; the jock was currently cheerily demonstrating Lambo how to pitch properly at targets.

"You're having your first official meeting today," Gokudera reminded with excitement for his boss. Tsuna pouted at Reborn guiding the conversation away from any threats based around Iemitsu, and the brunette nodded in acknowledgement of Gokudera's statement.

"I have to bring a wingman," Tsuna said distractedly, falling to his thoughts. A wingman was someone whom a boss especially trusted to be witness to meetings and to analyse speech and movements of those present when needed if lying or manipulation from the outside was suspected. Usually, a wingman was the boss's most trusted and deep in the inner circle.

"Who will you bring to the meeting?" Reborn asked. Tsuna didn't hesitate. "Gokudera-kun." The bomber reeled, shocked. "But — Reborn-san!" he spluttered. Tsuna smiled. "If Reborn came, it would give the impression that I brought a well-known, strong figure of Vongola to make up for my _utterly weak and useless existence,_ right Reborn?"

"Don't forget pathetic," the hitman added.

Tsuna's eyes laughed. "That's an impression I refuse to give. Grandfather chose a successor he believes in, and I'm not going to let anyone down."

Gokudera allowed himself a moment to be flustered before he took a deep breath and met his Tenth's eyes, confident and collected, looking mature beyond his years. "Thank you, Jyuudaime. I won't disappoint you." Tsuna smiled. _I knew I've made the right choice._ "You never do," Tsuna replied, confident in the silverette.

After Gokudera left the room to prepare for the meeting — informing Yamamoto of the situation and earning himself a cheerful ruffle of hair along the way — Reborn glanced at Tsuna. "Why _aren't_ I your wingman for this meeting?" he demanded.

"Of my guardians, Gokudera-kun is the most familiar with the formalities of the mafia," Tsuna said, "but the more important reason is that _he deserves this._" Reborn acknowledged the firm look directed his way. "You're raising his self-confidence by showing you trust him with the famiglia," Reborn recognised.

Even though Gokudera was the official storm guardian candidate, nothing was set in stone yet, and apparently, Tsuna had not forgotten that his friend had had an unstable life before they had met. Ever since Gokudera's mother had died, Gokudera had found himself depending on only possibilities — that his skills would get him past the next street scuffle, that the money he'd earn from odd jobs would get him his next meal — and even now, Gokudera's entire future was riding on how much a picky, elite, and traditional famiglia trusted him by their future boss's side.

That Tsuna _wanted_ Gokudera as his wingman was an official sign of the boss candidate telling his famiglia that _Gokudera-kun is my right-hand man, and he's not going anywhere._ From the cheeriness with which Yamamoto had congratulated Gokudera for being wingman, the swordsman apparently understood this as well.

What's more, Reborn approved of this. Personally, he preferred handling meetings until Gokudera was a little older and more self-confident, but Tsuna understood his guardian better — Reborn was a hitman and recently off the Arcobaleno curse; allowing himself to acknowledge all emotions was kinda new to him — and Gokudera certainly had the potential to be a killer right-hand as a grown man: intelligent beyond the average scientist, curious enough to consider even the unimaginable, had piano skills that could charm crowds, and his fighting capabilities were unquestionable.

Hm. Now that Reborn thought about it, Tsuna and his generation was quite scary — not for him, of course, but for everyone lesser than him in terms of mafia-related skills, and that was practically the rest of the world.

Tsuna raised a brow but didn't think much of it when Reborn had a fit of evil laughter that wasn't directed at him.

* * *

_They're already here. _

Dario kept a sharp eye on the pair of mafiosi already settled at one side of the table in the meeting room as Dario and his boss entered a few minutes before the scheduled time. The two mafiosi who were already in the room bore three ruby studs on their left ear; it was a traditional way for the Sciarra Famiglia to recognise rank.

Even without the earrings, however, Dario and his boss recognised the mafiosi pair right away — Stefano Sciarra and his wingman, Sandro, faces of the famiglia that had irritated and fought the Dioli Famiglia for years. Dario could still taste the right hook Sandro had given him in their last scuffle. _At least I won the one before,_ he thought.

"Don Dioli," Stefano acknowledged, and Dario's boss settled into his chair with a displeased, "Don Sciarra." Both bosses looked like someone had served them rotten meat to eat; it was always hard to swallow the presence of anyone from their rival famiglia, more so the leaders of said famiglia. Dario and Sandro shared a glare of their own as wingmen of opposite sides.

A click of the door opening disrupted the unpleasant atmosphere, and all eyes moved to see the new arrival. Dario was startled — after a brief moment of hesitation and observation — to realise that the two school kids coming in were the Vongola Decimo and his wingman.

Despite knowing their approximate age, Dario found them to look very young; the boy following his companion to the table was at least a full head shorter than the men in the room, yet could easily look across the table over his companion's head, and this unmistakable observation made the smaller one — no doubt the Tenth, with the other walking behind him — appear that much more like a young boy.

All thoughts of forcing opinions on the Vongola boss candidate vanished in place for discomfort, and Dario shuffled, feeling as if the Tenth really was not only a civilian, but a civilian _child_ who had walked into a mafia meeting — a lamb coaxed into a wolves' den.

"_Dio mio,_" Dario heard his boss mutter roughly under his breath at the sight of the Vongola pair, "what is Vongola thinking?"

From the other men's looks, the discomfort was shared. If the meeting ever went physical — and one was always prepared for if it did — no one would hesitate to kill the Vongola pair if given a reason to. Finally connecting the fact that the Tenth Generation Vongola was young with the startlingly blatant visual evidence, however, caused the men to know that if they killed the Vongola pair, it would leave a bitter taste in their mouth after.

Tsuna, meanwhile, noted the tense air and inwardly sighed. If the leaders of the Sciarra and Dioli couldn't relax in Tsuna's presence as his role as the mediator, then Tsuna's job was going to be a lot harder. '_It's training,' he said,_ Tsuna whined in his head as he remembered Reborn. _'You're a boss candidate now,' he said. Isn't paperwork torture enough?_

"_Buona sera_," Tsuna greeted calmly, going for a simple start. "I take it everyone is present?"

It was Daniel Dioli, boss of the Dioli Famiglia, who spoke up first. "_Sì, signore._ As you should already know, the basic problem we have here is that the Sciarra Famiglia and us are having disputes over some cargo coming in and out of Brindisi. We were hoping Vongola could help find a solution."

_Actually, we were hoping the Vongola Nono would lead the meeting,_ Daniel thought. _With Vongola, a party both disputing famiglias are allied to, we would listen to what Vongola would have to say, and the Nono as well as any of his guardians are strong enough to settle the Sciarra and Dioli Famiglias down if either of us get passionate. Instead, we get children._

Daniel mentally sighed.

_I am not sure if the Tenth and his guardian will be able to subdue Stefano, much less _two_ bosses and their respective wingmen._

Tsuna nodded, though it was at what Daniel had said aloud. For some reason, however, Daniel felt as if the young Vongola had sensed Daniel's opinion of the meeting anyway. Interestingly enough, the Tenth didn't appear to be too concerned — only a bit exasperated.

"I am aware of the situation, but I'd like to hear about the details of this dispute from both sides," Tsuna said, and Daniel sent a mild glare at Stefano when the Sciarra shared their side of the issue first, even though Daniel had established first contact with Vongola's boss candidate.

As Tsuna listened to the two famiglia's issues with each other, the brunette secretly felt like laughing or crying. The famiglias' dispute was like an argument between Gokudera and Lambo or Gokudera and Ryohei, only with business jargon thrown around and more restraint from childishly glaring at one another. From the sheepish shift of Gokudera's stance behind Tsuna, the silverette had noticed it too.

"Let me get this straight," Tsuna said. "The two of you think that the other famiglia should pay for last month's cargo. Don Dioli believes he shouldn't because he came up with the idea of sharing resources for transport so as to curb animosities between famiglias. Don Sciarra believes he shouldn't because his daughter's wedding is next week, he wants to pay the wedding expenses, and paying for last month's cargo would deplete the famiglia bank account."

There were nods all around.

Tsuna refused to massage his temples in front of the two bosses, but he did exhale with the hint of a sigh before gesturing at Daniel. "Don Dioli will pay for last month's cargo."

"But—!"

The Vongola boss candidate didn't glare at Daniel so much as simply whip his eyes to meet the Dioli boss's own, and Daniel sat back in his chair, mouth shut. To Daniel, the look Tsuna had given him was the kind that Daniel's mother made when she wasn't impressed with his manners, and…well, _no one_ messed with Mrs. Dioli.

"Don Sciarra will pay for next month's cargo," Tsuna continued smoothly past Daniel's interruption.

The smug look on the Sciarra boss vanished for a stunned one instead, and Daniel held back a bark of laughter. _What goes around comes around, Stefano._

"Can we agree on this compromise?" Tsuna finished.

The mafiosi in the room suddenly shifted in place, feeling as if they had wasted Vongola's time. Stefano and Daniel mutely nodded. Papers were signed and hands shaken, and at the end of the meeting, Tsuna surprised the two famiglias with a smile and an, "I'm glad we worked this out."

Any possible impatience or annoyance was left in the meeting room, and here was simply a fellow mafiosi glad that something got done. It was refreshing to see another boss — not an official one, but the sentiment was the same — acting like a normal man instead of the superhuman that somehow, all mafiosi expected their bosses to be.

As bosses and wingmen headed out the building, Daniel moved to Tsuna's side and matched his pace with a furtive glance at the silverette a little behind and to the right side of the Tenth. "Vongola Decimo," Daniel began. Tsuna acknowledged him. "Sí?" "If you don't mind satisfying an old man's curiosity, is it true that you have two right-hand men?" Tsuna nodded. "A right- and a left-hand man, yes. This is my right hand, Hayato Gokudera."

In the background, someone choked.

"I see," Daniel said, his face and voice not betraying his thoughts. He turned to Gokudera and formally nodded in greeting. "Buona sera." "Buona sera," Gokudera nodded back politely — not out of respect, but for formalities' sake, as wingman of a higher-ranked famiglia to the boss of a lower-ranked one.

As the Vongola pair broke off from the group for a different direction to head home, Stefano and Daniel watched the two children in silence. Once the Vongola boss candidate and wingman were out of sight, Daniel abruptly let out a, "That Vongola Decimo is a _sly fox!_"

Dario looked at his boss, startled. "Sir?"

"Smokin' Bomb Hayato," Stefano agreed. Apparently, the two bosses had forgotten about their disgust for one another under their shared interest with the young Vongola pair. The ear-pierced boss suddenly barked in laughter. "Vongola's kid-boss is going to fit _right_ _in_ with the mafia!"

At Dario's and Sandro's confused looks, Stefano smirked at the wingmen. "Don't you get it? Decimo's left hand is supposedly a real charmer, but the left hand wasn't the one who showed up today, even though his personality would have theoretically made the meeting easier for the Decimo."

"And the Decimo is a sly fox _how?_" Sandro asked.

Stefano grinned like an amused beast. "Because _the left hand wasn't the one who showed up today._ If the Decimo brought a swordsman to the meeting, the blatant sight of a weapon would have put us all on edge regardless of the left-hand man's character. Instead, he brought Smokin' Bomb Hayato."

"The Italian-Japanese brat whose ability to hide many bombs on his person got him the nickname," Daniel defined. "Smokin' Bomb is capable of blowing up a storm bunker with only one order." The boss suddenly cursed loudly. "The Vongola pair was never the ones in true danger during that meeting — _we_ were."

Dario and Stefano shared startled looks. Was it possible that all those storybook-worthy rumours of the Tenth Generation were _true?_

* * *

"Hana-san," Tsuna greeted, surprised. From the side, Gokudera met eyes with his Tenth; the look Tsuna sent back brought Gokudera to nod and excuse himself to go on ahead.

Tsuna returned his gaze to Hana, who had intercepted Tsuna and Gokudera on their way home from the meeting with the Sciarra and Dioli. Hana had her arms crossed. "You don't give me much information, Sawada."

Of course, her network. Hana was touchy about not knowing everything. This was probably the third time this week that Hana tried getting information about him in his sight; asking Chrome or Kyoko during class, for instance, though this was the first time she was coming to Tsuna directly.

_I think it's about time I give a little._ "I just want you to wait before I decide to share things with you, Hana-san. I don't want you to know too much for the sake of your own safety," Tsuna replied.

"That's why I'm offended!"

Tsuna blinked. That was not what he was expecting. Hana continued, displeasure written in her face. "Kyoko trusts you," she stated, and Tsuna nodded, accepting the truth in this and the responsibility that came with it, "and honestly, in the beginning, I thought you were keeping me out of the loop because you didn't like me."

This was believable; while Hana had never joined her peers in making fun of or bullying Dame-Tsuna, she had never tried stopping them, either. Tsuna felt embarassed that Hana had thought he had singled her out because of this, but he didn't feel regretful. In truth, he had somewhat encouraged Hana to come to her own conclusions regarding his behaviour. Before he could share his thoughts, Hana ran over his voice with her next statement.

"Rokudo made me think a bit, however, and now I see that you really are compassionate _beyond reason_ for you to let me think this about you if it meant that I wouldn't realise that you were trying to keep me _safe_."

Oh dear. She really _did_ sound offended.

"I'm in the student council, I _own_ Namimori's civilian information network, and I'm more of a man than half of the boys in our school. You should let me know about mafia happenings around here, Sawada. _I can help._"

_This,_ Tsuna felt a smile grow on his face, _**This**_ _is why I agree with Hibari-san's sentiments over keeping Namimori safe. This is why I'm proud to be from here._

"That's why I'm asking that you wait, Hana-san," Tsuna replied. Hana blinked, surprised out of her irritation, and Tsuna continued. "Your networking will be helpful in the future, but you deserve to be able to enjoy your childhood now."

Hana tutted. "You really are something else, Sawada, worrying about others' childhoods over your own."

Tsuna suddenly laughed, humoured by Hana's statement. "No, Hana-san, it's just that I've already had mine."

* * *

"According to our sources, Don Dioli, Don Sciarra, and their wingmen left the meeting laughing together."

"Impossible. The Sciarra and Dioli Famiglias _hate_ each other's guts."

"It's true! Do you want to see the pictures?"

"Pictures?" A finger swiped across a smartphone screen as CCTV shots displayed the unmistakable sight of four men, two of who had ruby studs; the two leading the group, obviously the bosses, were laughing, and the last two men of the group were seemingly gossiping, most likely of the Decimo. "No way. They must be under _hypnosis_ or something. Did the Decimo bring one of his illusionist guardians?"

"No, sir. He brought his right-hand man, Hayato Gokudera — sir?"

The second the bomber's name had left the informant's lips, his boss had spluttered. "That Decimo," the boss said slowly, "is a _sly_ one." At the informant's confused look, the boss shook his head with a wry smile. "I'll tell you why on the way."

"I-I'm going?"

"You know the most about the Decimo of our Family; I want you with me when I see the Decimo for the first time."

"I-I've never been out of the country…" the informant hopefully pointed out.

"Which is why this will be exciting for the both of us." A flutter of red clothing. "I'm curious about I-Pin's 'older brother.'"

* * *

**A/N: I'm not dead! I have summer reading for school, though, so updates may be few and far between, but **_**I shall not falter!**_** Ha ha. I am so thankful for all the support I'm getting in the reviews - please continue to like my fic!**


	5. Chapter 5

Lambo stared at the face past the hand offering him a lollipop. "I've been told not to talk to strangers," he said. "Aww, how cute!" the man before him cooed, and Lambo watched the young man turn to his bespectacled companion standing at the side. "I want to keep him!"

"S-Sir!" the standing one spluttered.

"I'm just kidding," the man with the lollipop waved off, and his paling companion sighed, exhausted. The stranger with the lollipop turned back to Lambo. "You are I-Pin's friend, right? The Broccoli Monster?" "Who are you, the Pedophile?" Lambo shot back, annoyed at the nickname.

"Sir, he knows what you are."

"Shut up, Chen."

Lambo didn't miss how the man with the lollipop moved with the grace and confidence of a master martial artist, nor how the man's charcoal hair was pulled back in a single, long braid — and the elaborate red changshan he wore was hard to miss. This guy was connected to I-Pin and Fong, somehow.

"I'm the Dragon Head," the braided man corrected with a smile, "but you can call me Dàgē."

_Holy Mosca this guy is a Chinese Triad boss,_ Lambo's jaw dropped, and he bolted out of the park.

Except the braided man caught him by the back of his cow-printed jumpsuit as quick as lightning and held him in the air, laughing as if he was playing with a kid instead of kidnapping Lambo. "What's wrong, don't like Dàgē?" the braided man asked.

"I only have one big brother!" Lambo retorted, squirming.

"Then you can call me Qí Lín, if you like — or Qí Lín-dàgē," the stranger continued to smile, gushing over how the cow child was cute trying to flee from him. "Sir, some mothers are staring." "Hold on, Chen, I think the Broccoli Monster is pulling out a toy to play with."

_Boom!_

Qí Lín and Chen coughed away smoke and winced as they got up from bushes. Despite their speed as top-notch martial artists, they had barely managed to avoid getting blown up; the cow print-wearing kid had dashed off the moment Qí Lín's grip had automatically loosened in shock at the sight of a grenade at his feet.

_That kid…._ Chen stared at the last spot he had seen the child in mute shock. "That's it," Chen heard his boss say, and the informant turned to see his boss clench his fists.

"**I'm gonna keep him!**"

Chen gaped when Qí Lín pumped his fist in the air, excited. "Sir, you can't just—" "That kid has the guts to drop a grenade on the Dragon Head of the Lòng Group — I'm going to recruit him," Qí Lín decided. "Besides, he's I-Pin's friend. If I get him into the clan, I-Pin may follow. It's two birds with one stone!"

* * *

"Lambo-kun," Shouichi blinked in surprise, and he opened the door wider. "You're always welcome here, but why so suddenly?" The lightning guardian rushed into Shouichi's apartment with a glance over his shoulder as if he was being followed. "A Dragon Head is in town, and he wants me to call him 'big brother,'" Lambo replied.

Destra and Sinistra shared a surprised look but stayed silent from where they were eating at opposite sides of the dining table. Shouichi closed the door behind him and returned to his computer at the end of the dining table. "A boss of a Chinese Triad is here?" he clarified. "Do you know which Triad?"

"Red changshan, single braid, super fast," Lambo described, "and he's definitely a master martial artist; I'm leaning towards kempo."

"Sounds like Fong," Shouichi admitted distractedly as he typed on his computer. "He must be the boss of the Lòng Group, though I don't know why he'd be anywhere outside of China."

"Lòng?" Lambo repeated, unfamiliar with the name.

"The most deeply-rooted criminal organisation in Asia," Shouichi described. "They boast only Asia's best martial artists, with its cargo-moving network its second greatest pride and its information network its third. They despise westerners, though, and Namimori is Vongola territory."

"The Qí Lín guy seems to know I-Pin, so maybe he's here for her," Lambo theorised, and Shouichi, Destra, and Sinistra froze in the middle of their activities. Lambo suddenly felt like he had said something wrong. "What?" he asked.

"Did you say Qí Lín?" Shouichi asked slowly, eyes focused on Lambo, who nodded. "I'm guessing you came to my apartment because you didn't want to lead the Dragon Head to Tsunayoshi-kun's home," Shouichi said, and Lambo nodded again.

The redhead sharply muttered a word under his breath, and Lambo's brows raised, surprised that one of his older playmates — Spanner being the other — had been driven to swearing by a single Chinese name.

"Who's Qí Lín?" Lambo asked. "Someone I wouldn't want following you to my apartment," Shouichi honestly replied, and got up from the table for the door, as if predicting Qí Lín would show up soon. "Don't worry, Lambo-kun, if he's interested in you, he's less likely to kill you."

A knock sounded on the door, followed by a Mandarin-accented voice.

* * *

"That better not be more paperwork," Tsuna stared at the stack of papers dumped on his table. Reborn smirked. "Of course not." Tsuna waited. "They're study material," Reborn added, and Tsuna groaned.

As Tsuna worked through the stacks, he found himself memorising division records and information on Vongola's members, and he looked at Reborn as he finished the second stack. "Why am I studying all of this?" Tsuna asked.

"Neither you nor any of your guardians have grown up in Vongola. This is how you're going to familiarise yourself with the famiglia," Reborn replied as he polished Leon in gun form. Tsuna inwardly chuckled, recognising that Reborn was still apprehensive of an Iemitsu-based threat.

_Wah, I'm getting amusement out of someone else's suffering. Reborn is rubbing off on me…._

Tsuna reread the file in his hands, amusement forgotten. Hastily returning to his get-Reborn-to-clarify stack of paperwork, Tsuna pulled out a progress report on shipping in China and immediately got Reborn's attention.

"Vongola's informant is being threatened not to write about what is truly going on in China," Tsuna concluded as he held up the report to Reborn.

The hitman raised a brow and looked around the paper to stare at his student blankly. "These are numbers, Dame-Tsuna." "Numbers on cargos Vongola has sold in China, but what about the profits?" Tsuna pointed out. Reborn frowned and stared at the paper before plucking it from Tsuna's hand to analyse the content further.

Indeed, the report was straightforward with tables, numbers, and labels neatly arranged on one sheet, but the lack of monetary profit from the cargo was telling. Reborn frowned further when he felt the paper, before turning it over to look at the blank backside, where the faintest of burn marks could be seen; on closer inspection, Reborn recognised them to be caused by dying will flames.

"Roberto Nervetti is not a flame-user," Tsuna recalled what he memorised, and Reborn's eyes shot to the upper corner of the front of the paper where the name was signed.

"Another party is getting Vongola's cargo for little to no cost," Reborn summarised as he read between the lines and numbers and looked up to meet Tsuna's gaze. Trust his student to notice these things in a bland-looking report that could easily be filed away without further thought. "What will you do?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna blinked, startled. "I'm not sure," he responded, before holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture before Reborn could start lecturing. "The thing is, I'm seeing similar reports to this from other places: California, New York, England, Russia…" he trailed off in thought, before he refocused on his tutor.

"How common is the dying will flame, Reborn?" Tsuna asked. "_Rare,_" the hitman responded without hesitation. When a beat of silence followed, Tsuna stared intently at Reborn, waiting for more. Reborn sighed.

"Do you remember the Pesca Famiglia?" he asked, and Tsuna nodded. "They sent an assassin after me when Vongola announced it would hold an inheritance ceremony for me to succeed Nono. The assassin was shot by an altered version of the Dying Will bullet and used cloud flames to 'propagate' himself bigger, but I defeated him."

"The Ninth had several men investigate how the Pesca could produce something akin to the Dying Will bullet," Reborn explained, "but the Pesca got defensive, Vongola got aggressive in already having its boss candidate attacked by them, and we were forced to drop the investigation before war could break out."

A brow raised at that. "I'm guessing Pesca and Vongola weren't on good terms to begin with?" Tsuna shared, and Reborn scoffed. "The Pesca have economic power all over the world, but Vongola has famiglia alliances and 'old money.' If things get too heated between the two, famiglias would take sides according to which one would benefit them the most, and it would be World War III."

Tsuna gave a low whistle. "Is the Pesca Famiglia causing these economical problems with Vongola?" the brunette asked. "Don't assume anything," Reborn reminded. "Another party could be taking advantage of the tension between us and the Pesca to get us both fighting and then strike when both famiglias are weakened." Tsuna nodded in agreement and understanding.

"What bothers me is the production of Dying Willesque bullets; whoever is making them has to have tested the bullets, and the one used on the Pesca assassin was imperfect." Tsuna's hands clenched in realisation, and his lips thinned. "Who knows how many people could have died from bullets like that."

Flames were meant to naturally come out according to one's willpower, not forced out of body cells by means of machine. Even when Tsuna was hit by the Dying Will Bullet, he did not emit flames from anywhere on his body like the Pesca assassin did in an awkward manner to become bigger.

When the assassin fought, there didn't seem to be anything beyond caveman intelligence, either, which bothered Tsuna now that he thought back on it. At least when Tsuna was in Dying Will mode, he could still form full sentences; the Pesca assassin didn't do anything past grunts and guttural shouts.

"I will inform Nono about this," Reborn held up the paper in his hands, and Tsuna nodded. "We should also send the records like that one to Grandfather for him to analyse," he shared. When Reborn was halfway out of the bedroom, Tsuna stopped him for a moment as the brunette sat down to continue slaving through his paperwork.

"Possible war or not, Vongola has to get more stable means of earning money besides depending on old economic agreements and some money that has been saved up." "What are you thinking?" Reborn asked. Tsuna glanced at the trade records.

Meeting Reborn's eyes, he replied, "I'm thinking economic deals with civilian enterprises, and not just underground businesses." Reborn looked at his student properly, surprised Tsuna would propose such an idea. "No mafia famiglia has done something like that, _ever,_" he stated, just to check if Tsuna was serious.

"I'm aware of that," Tsuna said with knowing and determined eyes, and Reborn believed him.

"Jyuudaime," Gokudera showed up at the door, Yamamoto behind him, "the dumb cow hasn't returned from the park." Tsuna's brows furrowed. "Bianchi-san should be with him." "Aneki said that he disappeared while she briefly left him to investigate an unfamiliar flame signature in Namimori. She's currently with turf top's sister and the hahi woman searching for him."

"Reborn," Tsuna began, and the hitman nodded. "I'll watch over I-Pin and Fuuta," Reborn said, and Tsuna joined Gokudera and Yamamoto in the search for Lambo.

* * *

"Tsuna," Yamamoto alerted, natural hitman senses moving his hand for Shigure Kintoki, and Tsuna and Gokudera tensed, "there's someone dangerous nearby." Odd; Tsuna's intuition had not warned him of a threat….

_"What in pen yan's name is _that!?_"_

_Bang bang bang!_

_"Eat this, pedo!"_

_Boom!_

"Someone like Lambo when Spanner decides to lend him a Gola Mosca?" Tsuna asked wryly. The trio hurried to the source of the sudden noise, only to stumble upon the unusual sight of a red-clothed, young man catching bullets and missiles with sweeping hands and palm thrusts that blasted storm flames and allowed the projectiles to explode in place and spew smoke harmlessly around him.

"Lambo, that's enough!" Tsuna shouted over the noise, and a breeze caught enough smoke to reveal Spanner with a handheld computer to guide the Mosca and sitting cross-legged in the apartment's separate, two-story garage. In the centre of a new hole on the face of the apartment building was Lambo surrounded by grenades and in the middle of throwing one.

Yamamoto observed the burnt marks in the area to trace the fight. "Nice pitching!" he flashed a grin to Lambo. The kid learned fast considering the fact that Yamamoto had only given him one lesson after catching a stray grenade and becoming interested in teaching a child hitman the proper way to pitch.

Gokudera whacked him. "I knew I shouldn't have left you with the dumb cow that day!" the silverette said. From the look on Tsuna's face, the brunette agreed. After all, destruction meant more paperwork. At least the Kokuyo gang had taken the day to check on their original base in Kokuyo Land.

"Holy pen yan," the red-clothed man breathed, embracing the peace after the Mosca and Lambo-induced storm, "I just tried to say hi." Despite his speech as a shaken victim, he did not act shaken, and he even straightened up from a kempo stance with effortless grace and tossed his braided hair over his shoulder with an exhale, as if he had not just faced down a product of mad science.

"What happened?" Tsuna demanded as Lambo shimmied down a drainpipe to reunite with his big brother figure. In the background, Gokudera phoned his sister to update her on the situation — including that the unfamiliar flame signature belonged to a braided man Tsuna was with — while Yamamoto looked on by Tsuna's side with a friendly smile.

"The pedophile said he wants to steal I-Pin from Vongola!" Lambo exclaimed. "So I threw a grenade; Pedo turned out to be a master martial artist like Fong; Shouichi, the pink ladies, and Pedo's friend were knocked unconscious from the sudden blast in the apartment; and Spanner decided to help me scare Pedo away."

"It's all true," Spanner attested with a lazy raise of his hand.

Tsuna glared at him, and Spanner quickly retracted his hand.

"Are you alright?" Tsuna turned to the braided man brushing soot off his cheeks, and the Chinese smiled. "Fine. I'm more worried about those who were caught in the blast; if I wasn't as fast as I am, I would have been overwhelmed as well. The cow child seems to be made of steel, though," he gestured to Lambo.

"Yeah, Lambo's had his fair share of explosions," Tsuna sighed. Lambo survived lightning strikes and attacks from Reborn — if _those_ didn't stop him from bouncing back, nothing could. "I'm sorry about your man, by the way," Tsuna gestured to the groaning man in red waking up and seen through the hole in the apartment wall.

The braided man tilted his head and gave a confused smile. "How did you know I was a boss?"

"It takes one to know one — or in this case, recognise one," Tsuna dipped his head in a traditional oriental greeting. "I'm the Vongola Decimo."

The young man was startled and embarrassed that he had not been prepared for this, and he barked in laughter. _Ah, so this is the Decimo's laughing effect,_ Qí Lín thought as the last laugh left him. He noticed the time on the clock hanging on Shouichi's wall and inwardly pouted that he couldn't afford to hang around longer.

"Our however brief meeting was interesting, Decimo," Qí Lín gave a sudden, friendly clap on Tsuna's shoulder. The braided man was instantly aware of sharp, hitman eyes on him, and he subtly backed off. _Ho ho,_ he thought, and then aloud, "_Very_ interesting." _I nearly lost my hand, there. _Qí Lín glanced at the teen at Tsuna's side and still innocently smiling in contrast to the warning grip on a sword handle.

"Sir," Chen said, leaping from the building to land by his boss with a martial artist's grace. "I hope we meet again, Decimo," Qí Lín nodded back in a traditional farewell, and with a final glance at the still smiling teen at Tsuna's side, Qí Lín and Chen flickered out of sight in high speeds.

"He was gone pretty quickly," Yamamoto commented.

"He's very busy," Tsuna reasoned as he visually checked on Shouichi, who was waking up and checking Destra and Sinistra's pulses. "He must have recently taken up the position of Dragon Head to come to Japan himself just for I-Pin. If he had been a boss for a while, he would have had the trust of his group to be able to send subordinates to Japan instead."

"Dragon Head?" Yamamoto echoed in confusion. "It's the proper title of the boss of a Triad," Tsuna explained. "Vongola and Shimon are the only famiglias to refer to their bosses by generation number; the rest of the mafia famiglias refer to their boss by 'Don' and then the surname."

"Qí Lín is a recently-made Dragon Head, alright," Shouichi wryly and loudly said from where he mourned over the hole in his wall after he deemed Destra and Sinistra unhurt, "and it's not just any Triad he's become boss of."

"The Lòng Group," Gokudera joined in after hanging up on the phone, and he looked at Tsuna. "It's amazing enough they entered Namimori; what's more shocking is that the _Qílín_ came." "You believe the rumours?" Shouichi asked. "Don't you?" Gokudera shot back.

"I believe only because I've seen him in action in the future," Shouichi waved off, and he brought a nervous hand to his stomach as he recalled what he had seen. "Bloodthirsty storm flames dancing about a single human figure like they have a mind of their own, passing righteous judgement on opponents with blazing jaws and hooves…" the redhead shuddered. "It's hard to forget. The Qílín had given Byakuran the hardest time about conquering Asia."

"Are we talking about the mythical creature, here, or a man named Qí Lín?" Tsuna asked, lost.

"Both, in a sense," Gokudera replied. "Ten years ago, it was rumoured that the Lòng Group possessed a real-life qílín. Since then, the rumour has evolved to say that the Lòng's qílín is actually a warrior who fights with living fire, or that the qílín is a warrior dressed in red who only _seems_ to be on fire because of his speed."

"If you're good, you know that the warrior rumours are most likely true," Shouichi shared to Tsuna. "From the order of the rumour's evolution, you can say that a skilled fighter, Qí Lín, left a lasting, awed impression in the people he was sent to handle. Since he's apparently the official boss candidate, however, the Lòng Group wouldn't want anyone knowing how strong he truly is until he becomes boss, so any rumours of the Lòng having a qílín were downplayed, until now hardly anyone believes them. Qí Lín Lòng still has the nickname of 'the Qílín' despite their best efforts, though."

"And this guy came here for I-Pin?" Tsuna said, worried.

"Partly, yes. He came here mostly for _you,_" Reborn flew in with a Leon paraglider. "The Dragon Head swung by the house to check up on I-Pin, but now he's heading back to China. Bianchi is currently watching over the kids."

"Why I-Pin?" Yamamoto picked up. "And why _me?_" Tsuna asked.

"I-Pin or Fong can explain that better," Reborn referred to Yamamoto's question, "but as for you, Dame-Tsuna, the Dragon Head must know that you're _very_ different from the usual Vongola, according to his sources. Most mafiosi don't care to consider the impossible, but Qí Lín Lòng knows better than anyone that impossible rumours should be investigated. The Lòng Group must be the only criminal organisation besides Cavallone and Shimon that currently believes the rumours circulating about you and your generation."

"It's not too surprising," Shouichi commented. "Despite the Lòng Group's influence, its reputation doesn't extend outside of Asia, and the basis of its dislike for westerners is because of the economic bullying during the Opium Wars. The Lòng Group is only one of a few Triads from that time to still exist today."

"Making connections with you, specifically, will help the Lòng Group regain its worldwide respect from before," Reborn concluded. "You're the next boss of the strongest, most respected famiglia, and you've made yourself not like western scum in Qí Lín Lòng's eyes thanks to your brief interaction earlier."

"I'm Japanese; I shouldn't have to prove I'm not western," Tsuna said, confused.

"But Vongola has claimed you and has styled you to be its boss," Reborn explained. "If the Lòng Group believes the rumours about you, however, then they know that you're going to be a new breed of boss no one has seen since the creation of the mafia."

_Shouichi-kun, _Tsuna remembered._ The Sciarra and the Dioli, too — not a single punch thrown during that meeting. And I've made allies out of the newly-formed but influential Millefiore without bribes or threats…just through friendship. _

_I'm a new breed of boss. A wind of change. _

"Is the Lòng Group not connected with the cargo theft, then?" Tsuna checked, earning him startled and confused looks from everyone but Reborn, who knew what Tsuna was talking about.

"It would be counterproductive of them to do so when Qí Lín Lòng is apparently impressed with you and the Lòng Group wants an alliance with you," Reborn said, and suddenly gave a dry smile. "But you're going to soon realise that politics isn't cut-and-dry, plain and simple." In other words, the cargo theft problem was more complicated than Tsuna already found it to be.

Just another day at the office.

* * *

A/N: I feel really bad for Tsuna; he's been misunderstood as a sly but kind person by three bosses, two wingmen, and an informant. I guess I'm half-successful, since I originally aimed to make Tsuna compassionate but with a sly side like his future self's deviousness suggested. (Just reflect: TYL!Tsuna was the one who plotted Byakuran's demise, though with Shouichi's help. Tsuna's the _last_ person you'd expect plotting from.)

There _are_ still traces of a sly Tsuna (subtlety getting Hana to not realise his true intentions i.e. keeping her safe) so hopefully I can still bring out the Tsuna that I've envisioned into this fic!

I hope I didn't lose anyone with the politics and OC's; I'm setting things up to lead into the main plot. I actually despise having OC's, so whatever non-canon character you see serves a purpose — Tsuna and the gang are still going to be the most awesome out there.

I-Pin's connection with Qí Lín has yet to be revealed, but Qí Lín apparently has a famous reputation — or an infamous one, if you're like Shouichi and know that the Qílín isn't as peaceful as his mythological counterpart….

If you don't know what a qílín is, you can read the following or just look the qílín up on the Internet and skip down to "Lambo."

The qílín is a creature from Chinese mythology that has the head of a dragon, the tail of an of or lion, and an equine-like body, ranging from deer-shaped, ox-shaped, or horse-shape, but always with cloven hooves — not horse hooves. It also has a single horn that's often shown as branch-like, and because of its single-horned characteristic, the qílín has often been referred to as the Chinese unicorn by westerners.

It's a being of fire and is often depicted with flames all over its body, and in the pre-Qin hierarchy of mythological animals, the qílín was ranked as number one, followed by fènghuáng (Chinese phoenixes), and then lòng (Chinese dragons) in third place. It is described as benevolent, and in Chinese mythology, it shows up when a sage or illustrious ruler dies or is born.

Qí Lín Lòng, however, has been described as bloodthirsty by Shouichi, proving that just because something _sounds_ approachable in the mafia, it doesn't mean it _is_. (I apologise for throwing up an encyclopedia. I just wanted to point out the main facts about the qílín that my readers should know.) ;^^

Lambo deserves recognition every now and then. I mean, come on — able to withstand and redirect lightning, bounces back after Reborn's bullying where most (hitman-aspiring) children would lose self-confidence, the most familiar with time travel of the entire KHR cast yet surprisingly quiet about what he's seen of the future despite his tendency to speak his mind?

You've got yourself a destructive-repellant kid who can keep a secret and is armed with more explosives than a military arsenal, and he's only six.

_And_ I've gotten Yamamoto to train him in pitching grenades.

So ten years in the future, you've got a dangerous, hard-to-kill character with _swag_. (Because let's be honest here; TYL!Lambo looks like your stereotypical lady killer.)

That's the longest Author's Note I've ever written. Whew. Just FYI, long A/N's have important information and clarifications. I'm not emboldening the A/N's that are notably long — like this one — because it hurts my head reading paragraphs in bold, and I want to spare my readers the headache.

Feel free to ask for clarification on things in this fic, and don't forget to leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

They must have looked stylish, walking down the street in dresses and formal wear. Nana had gone ahead with Bianchi to Namichuu, excitement getting the better of the two women. Today, after all, their boys were graduating middle school. It was unfortunate that Nono needed to discuss the Dying Willesque bullet issue with Reborn and Iemitsu the same day, and while the conversation would be held over the phone, the discussion would be a long one. Reborn and Iemitsu were undoubtedly going to miss the graduation ceremony.

Another pair were going to miss it — Mukuro and Chrome were attending the elementary graduation ceremony for Ken, Chikusa, MM, and Fran. The Kokuyo gang was like family, and while Chrome treasured her friends of her age group, she had been with the Kokuyo gang longer. Namichuu's principal understood this when told beforehand, and set things up so as to spare Mukuro and Chrome the embarrassment of having their names called during the ceremony and then not showing up. At least Fuuta, Lambo, and I-Pin had someone to congratulate them on finishing a year of school strong. Nana had been torn until Chrome told her of Mukuro and Chrome's arrangements.

Tsuna smiled at Ryohei and Kyoko, who joined him, Gokudera, and Yamamoto as they got closer to the school. "You look nice, Kyoko-chan." Her eyes lit up. "See? Tsuna-kun knows how to give a compliment!" she turned to her brother. Tsuna chuckled — Ryohei must have tripped over himself complimenting Kyoko and ended up spouting something else out. Ryohei was also like that when he didn't want Kyoko to worry about the boys when they were entering a tough battle.

"Jyuudaime is the best!" Gokudera said, and Yamamoto laughed. "Wrong context, 'Dera." "He knows what I mean!"

_I love my family,_ Tsuna smiled.

Past the glass of a café's window, a yellow sundress caught Tsuna's eye. It was familiar in the way it shifted with the habitual toss of the head to keep long bangs out of the way from a forkful of cake, and Tsuna cracked the bakery door open to allow his voice to carry in as he looked through the bay window.

"Haru?"

The girl met his gaze past the glass as the last of her cake disappeared into her mouth, and her eyes crinkled as she waved. Kyoko waved back and excitedly joined Haru at the small table to inquire about the cake flavour Haru had eaten.

The boys followed Kyoko into the café, and — as the girls' table was meant for two and definitely not enough for six — paired off to the two closest free tables. Yamamoto and Gokudera felt no need to eat something before the ceremony, but Tsuna felt bad and ordered tea when Ryohei, his table partner, looked to dismiss the waiter.

The six of them held a conversation from their tables, but the girls were masters of sharing news down to the visual details, and the boys quickly learned that the new cake flavour released that day had broken Haru's resolution to appear at her graduation ceremony with an empty stomach to look skinnier, and that Kyoko admired how Haru was able to keep her sundress unstained.

"It's a shame that our graduation ceremonies are at around the same time and day," Kyoko lamented. "We could have watched each other's graduations." "We'll all be more united in high school," Haru happily pointed out.

The boys perked up when they heard of a topic they could handle, and Yamamoto pounced. "Where do you plan to go?" he asked for everyone. Haru paid for her cake and tipped the waiter. "Sentou High," she replied, and brows raised in respect. "The EXTREMELY prestigious school," Ryohei recognised. "Haru-chan's dad is a teacher, after all," Kyoko mused.

Tsuna hummed. "Shouichi-kun's going there, too." The boys nodded, silently agreeing that the redhead should go to a school that could challenge his intellect, even a little. "No doubt he'll be in the honours classes," Gokudera predicted. The girls shared a brief sigh. "I'll be in the normal classes," Haru said, "but it would be nice if I can see him in the hallways."

The boys were confused. The girls slyly grinned. "Irie-kun is quite handsome when he grows up. I wouldn't mind watching his gradual transformation," Kyoko commented. Ryohei suddenly looked grateful that Kyoko was joining him in Namimori High. Kyoko and Haru's appreciation for the opposite sex was obviously undergoing the same intensification all females experienced as they transitioned from middle school kids to high school girls.

"I pity Irie," Yamamoto suddenly muttered, from one unfortunately good-looking male to another. The realisation that high school allowed for more females to be added to their club of admirers brought a dark cloud above Yamamoto and Gokudera's heads. The depressing conversation forced Gokudera to flee the scene as politely as possible — most likely to cry in a bathroom stall at his future problem — and Yamamoto was quick to follow Gokudera's example. Ryohei excused himself to give pointers to the two; girls often found boxing as the height of masculinity, and Ryohei's do-it-or-die attitude fit into the romantics of Hollywood movies.

"I'll always be your fan," Haru consoled Tsuna, Kyoko nodding with the sentiment. Tsuna, sensing that the conversation was quickly getting out of his hands, insisted that he didn't need any of the sort and remarked that the time for the graduation ceremony was coming quite close.

The girls stood up to leave before Tsuna could strategically exit, and he returned their waves in a brief farewell. Once they were out of sight, a man in a green kimono casually slipped into Ryohei's chair with a bowl of the café's soup.

"I understand you want to talk to me?" Kawahira said.

They were quite the domestic sight, eating soup and drinking tea.

"Thank you for finding me," Tsuna dipped his head — transitioning from familial friend to mafia don — and added, "It was hard enough contacting you without Reborn knowing, and finding a time and date to meet up with you is practically impossible, considering this fact." "I imagine he won't be too thrilled once we've had our conversation." "If all goes well, he won't know we had one."

Kawahira put his spoon down.

"You're serious about this," Kawahira said slowly in realisation. Tsuna knew the value of words, and said nothing in response. "Is there an oncoming world catastrophe that I do not know about?" Kawahira lowered his voice, acknowledging the privacy of their conversation in a public café.

"If there is, I would have gathered the leaders among my friends again and pulled you, Bermuda, and Jäger into a meeting as well," Tsuna assured. "What I _am_ possibly facing is World War III, but that is largely political and uninvolved with the Trinisette." Kawahira relaxed, but his focused attention did not waver. "Why are we speaking, then?" the bespectacled man asked.

"The origin of dying will flames," Tsuna said. "I don't need to know everything, but the lighting of flames and their nature is important to me and my famiglia." If the Pesca ostensibly created the Dying Willesque bullet by examining Vongola's flame technology, much of the spiritual aspect of flames could have been lost in the science of it. Tsuna worried not only for people who the bullet was used and being used on, but for the people targeted by these unexperienced, non-natural flame users as well.

"I believe the name is self-explanatory," Kawahira said.

"The intensity of the required sentiment to be willing to die for a cause is obviously unimaginably considerable," Tsuna countered. "I respect soldiers who fight for comrade and country, and mothers who would do anything for their children's safety, but their emotions are obviously not enough to summon flames. This means, of course, that the extremity of Hibari-san's irritation and Xanxus's rage was unhealthily high when they used flames in the beginning. You can imagine that I'm concerned."

"Certain metals are also necessary to allow flames to materialise," Kawahira pointed out, "at least, for amateur flame users — especially if they're human." It said a lot that people like Varia and the Shimon Famiglia were considered amateurs by Kawahira's standards. "What would happen if the metals were…incomplete?" Tsuna asked. Kawahira gave Tsuna a strange look.

"Death," Kawahira answered, his voice betraying none of his feelings on the matter. "Of the mind. Of the body. Quite possibly of both. Dying will flames are physical manifestations of the earth's life force, and we are children of the earth. If the life force is summoned in an untraditional physical manner, the retainer of the flames will pay for it."

Simple. And tragic. It also meant that a considerable number of people summoning flames incorrectly would upset the balance of Earth's life force, which would force the Trinisette to act, quite possibly requiring the return of the Arcobaleno if things truly went south — and hostilities were still presently being soothed.

_I have no other choice, then,_ Tsuna realised. _I have to end the production of Dying Willesque bullets, even if it may mean WWIII. That, or risk war within the Trinisette, Vendicare included. _Tsuna knew very well what that could look like.

Kawahira's expressionless face now made sense; the inhuman earthling had read into Tsuna's queries and had come to the conclusion that there was the possibility of war, but shared none of Tsuna's turmoil in knowing of it. After all, Kawahira could easily win against whatever Vendicare could try throwing at him, and as long as the Trinisette existed and maintained Earth's balance, the conflicts of men were not of Kawahira's concern — nor, apparently, worth his sympathies.

Tsuna couldn't bring himself to drink tea anymore. "Thank you," he murmured just loud enough. The gratitude was for the information and time Kawahira had willingly shared with Tsuna, but the brunette's heart weighed heavily in his chest in contradiction to his words. He left enough money for the tea and the waiter as he stood up from his seat as quickly but politely as possible, eager to walk when he wasn't feeling like himself.

"Don't you want to ask me another question?"

Before Tsuna could help it, the image of seven pacifiers and dead bodies flashed in his mind. _My curiosity must be obvious,_ Tsuna thought, _though it is expected._ "Who were going to be the next Arcobaleno if there had not been a solution for the pacifier problem?" he asked.

"You already know," Kawahira assured. "_You_ were the one who gathered and united them."

"Mukuro, Xanxus, Squalo, Byakuran, Dino-san, and Hibari-san?" Tsuna listed. Kawahira leaned back in his chair, as a vocal answer was unneeded. "But half of them are sky-flame attributes!" Tsuna pointed out. "Just as your storm guardian has four other flame waves, the three you speak of have secondary flames," Kawahira informed.

_Two of whose secondary flames I've seen,_ Tsuna realised. "Xanxus's is storm, and Byakuran's is lightning," Tsuna noted, "so Dino's is sun?" When he found himself looking up from his tea he had gazed at in thought, Kawahira had vanished. "Eccentric," Tsuna muttered, and took out more cash for the bowl of soup left behind. He stared at the items he was to clear from the table, and his eyes softened. _And lonely._

When Tsuna left the café, a teacup and bowl could be seen through the window, sitting across each other on a table like old friends.

* * *

Tsuna reunited with Yamamoto and Gokudera at the school's front yard. Nana and Bianchi were with a cluster of mothers standing by where the graduation ceremony was to be held. Nana was very excited to take a picture of Tsuna shaking hands with the principal, and Bianchi had warmed up to the idea of sending a photo of Gokudera's graduation to their father.

Yamamoto and Gokudera had lightened up after whatever pep talk Ryohei could have given, but they still stuck by Tsuna instead of wandering the crowd where girls could pounce. Tsuna inwardly chuckled and led the way towards the cluster of mothers. The ceremony would be starting soon. A gaggle of classmates patted Tsuna's shoulder as they passed.

"Not so no-good anymore, 'ey, Sawada?" "Keep it up through high school!" "Maybe join the volleyball team!"

The reaction was immediate.

"To degrade Jyuudaime's skills to _volley_—"

"Gokudera-kun."

"Hmph."

The festival mood had infected everyone, and Tsuna's classmates paid Gokudera's offended response no mind in favour of simply laughing at the characteristic reaction and discussing where to eat after the ceremony. Yamamoto heard the topic and turned to Tsuna and Gokudera.

"TakeSushi is fine with you guys, right? Even though we go there all the time."

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi's sushi was delicious; Tsuna and Gokudera couldn't imagine anyone saying no to the offer. Suddenly, the chorus of Namichuu's baseball players greeting one another sounded across the schoolyard. Yamamoto's ears pricked up in the only visible betrayal. Tsuna nudged him.

"Go on; you don't need my permission to leave my presence. We're all going to see too much of each other as adult guardians and boss, and the baseball team only lasts for a blink of an eye compared to that."

Yamamoto hesitated, unable to imagine having "too much" of his mafia friends', but his childish selfishness won out, and he cheerily merged with the group of jockeys across the yard. Gokudera didn't have anywhere to go to except to stay by his boss's side. Tsuna looked at him, and Gokudera met his eyes evenly, silently assuring that he didn't find Tsuna's company boring, and wouldn't tire of it soon. The support the silverette gave relieved Tsuna more than the brunette could express.

Tsuna's intuition sparked, and he glanced at the rooftop of Namichuu. The graduation ceremony was to be held outdoors, where long banners of congratulations and best of wishes hung from the roof's railing. The outdoor theatre, usually set up in the corner of the school grounds, had been carefully moved to in front of the banners and tastefully decorated with flowing cloths and springs of ribbons that matched the banners' colour theme, the school colours of navy and tan. Red was here and there to honour the Disciplinary Committee.

"We had our first lunches together there."

Tsuna looked at Gokudera, who had followed Tsuna's eyes to the roof. Tsuna smiled. He had to do this carefully.

"The roof bears more than lunch memories," Tsuna commented wryly. Hibari liked his peace, after all; the carnivore had established the roof as his own napping spot since his first year in Namichuu, and he was willing to drive away any disturbance. Yamamoto was just too cheerfully stubborn to completely give up on the roof, and when Ryohei joined in, Hibari knew when to pick his fights.

As the two sole Namimori upperclassmen of Tsuna's mafia group, Ryohei and Hibari clicked considerably better than even charisamtic Yamamoto and Hibari; Ryohei was the only soul on earth Tsuna knew brave or stupid enough to openly, loudly demand for Hibari to join a group huddle when someone was going to battle. Unfortunately, Hibari never showed until the Cloud battle of the Ring conflict, so no one got to witness Hibari's response to an _un-peaceful order_ for Hibari to join in _crowding_. Yamamoto had exclaimed that it would have been exciting to see. Everyone else just didn't vocally admit that they agreed.

When Gokudera carefully smiled back, Tsuna knew he had gotten the message across. Tsuna gave the slightest of nods. Gokudera subtlety felt for the wind's angle and speed with his face and dug his hands in his pockets for a mock-slouch.

"I'll see you later, Jyuudaime."

"Thanks, Gokudera-kun. I also think I'll go to the bathroom; tell my mom and the girls not to worry." Panic was unnecessary — and dangerous.

On the way for the toilets, Tsuna was intercepted by a number of friends and companions. Kyoko and Ryohei were curious where Tsuna was going, and Hana was upset that Tsuna was heading for the W.C. soon before the ceremony would start, but Tsuna managed to draw deep enough into Namichuu's building to be completely free of schoolmates, teachers, and parents.

The walls and ceiling shook with an explosion on the roof, but it was like whitenoise to Tsuna's class and teachers who had learned to tune out such things thanks to Gokudera's tendencies. The patter of feet told of the DC reacting to the explosion; the following calming of their movements revealed that Hibari was taking care of it. By now, Gokudera should have been joining Nana, Bianchi, and Kyoko at the seats at the outdoor theatre for their safety, just in case. Maybe Yamamoto would approach Gokudera in curiosity over why the silverette had impulsively tossed a dynamite at the roof when no one was looking.

_Click._

Tsuna dove to the side just in time for a spray of bullets to tail him across the wall. If he wasn't in Namichuu, and if he wasn't supposed to learn how to fight with least collateral damage as possible, Tsuna would have sent a blast through the wall at his assailant to end this quickly. As it was, he grabbed a desk and slid it across the hallway. Bullets immediately ripped it apart; Tsuna slid across the floor himself in the moment of his assailant's relaxation at the sight of a desk and threw an unhinged stapler. The assassin dropped his semi-automatic and grabbed his face in terrified pain at the stapler stuck to his forehead.

With little time in his hands, Tsuna didn't try to reverse his momentum and instead scrambled for the classroom's window in hopes of drawing the assassin away from Namichuu. He managed to get both feet on the window sill before he caught sunlight bouncing off a rifle.

"Crap!"

Tsuna leapt for a windowsill a floor above the same time bullets ripped apart the air where he was. With a jump and a helpful boost of flames, Tsuna propelled himself up to roof-level and caught the rails to throw himself away from open vertical air below. A curse and the opening and closing slam of a door informed Tsuna that the second assassin had entered the building. Another slam, this one closer, told him that the first assassin was a floor ahead.

"Herbivore," Hibari warned. The brutally slaughtered remains of a sniper gun laid at Hibari's feet, along with an unconscious and bloody man dressed in the tans of the school building. Tsuna had been lucky to spot the sniper and inform Gokudera before the sniper could have done real damage. Any of Vongola's Tenth Generation or allies were likely primary targets, but dead civilians could be used to create a stampede out of a well-behaved crowd.

"Watch over the ceremony," Tsuna assured. "The others can't defend themselves against an assassination while shaking hands with the principal unless they want to alarm parents with their weapons or flames. I need you on-ground while I lure the obvious assassins away from here."

Hibari looked disgruntled. He considered sending back-up to accompany Tsuna instead of leaving the brunette alone, but the only possible help present was Bianchi who, while having her stealthy moments, couldn't completely fight without a sort of collateral damage, and Hibari didn't want poison cooking slathered on Namichuu's walls when this was over. He should have been more tolerant for Tsuna's case, but he believed in Tsuna's capabilities. An abundance of flames would be sensed if Tsuna was in any real danger, and the guardians would respond regardless of the presence of civilians — as for property damage and revealing of flames to civilians, Hibari would likely be the first to do either if a major threat was present anyway.

Tsuna was correct in trusting Hibari to respond to Gokudera's destruction of Namimori property by heading for the roof without alarming anyone; it was the stealthiest way to deal with the most immediate threat, and Hibari could bite a trespasser to death without flames and without the faculty and students blinking an eye. The assassins with semi-automatics were the only ones who had actually damaged Namichuu property; so far the noise of a hundred people outside had managed to mask the gunfire, but if the assassins came to the roof….

"Hibari-san," Tsuna urged.

Hibari frowned but went down the side of the school building anyway. The school bell rang at the same time, signalling the start of the ceremony. The crowd quieted as the principal's voice came out of the speakers set up around the outdoor theatre. "_Amano Akira!_" the principal summoned the first student. "_Namichuu thanks you for a stellar three years._" A shutter of cameras announced parents' pride.

Tsuna sensed his time running out as the countdown to the call of his name began. Luckily, the assassins in the building seemed to only be after Tsuna, as the two armed men charging up the stairs were heading straight for the roof without spraying bullets on the crowd outside in the hopes of killing a guardian. No sign of other assassins was seen, but that didn't mean they weren't there. An idea came to mind.

_Reborn's going to kill me,_ Tsuna thought. He sat down and closed his eyes.

In the future, Lal Mirch had coached Tsuna on sensing flames. He had only been able to sense himself well enough to be able to gauge how much longer he would last in a fight, but now, as someone capable of releasing flames from any part of his body like Bermuda, Tsuna predicted that his heightened understanding of flames would allow him a clearer mind for sensing. It was stupid to leave himself vulnerable while gathering his senses — _especially_ stupid to do so on a roof, where Tsuna would be the most exposed — but Tsuna trusted his intuition and instinct, and they weren't telling him he was in danger. Yet.

Flame potential tumbled and breathed within him — and with every breath, stretched out, seeking life and embracing what it could find like leaves to the sun or laughter through air. Tsuna's aura wanted to make connections, but he only wanted to locate assassins instead of alerting them — if they were flame users — that he was looking for them. The first step to sensing was to understand himself, and once Tsuna got a hold of his aura, he slowly reached out with his senses.

The crowd outside murmured in response to something the principal was saying.

One aura, not of a definite flame yet, so not a flame user. The assassin's aura was directly below Tsuna, and if Tsuna guessed right, just one floor away. The assassin was making slow progress, however. Tsuna remembered both assassins as heavy-set; the assassins were most likely relying on a semi-automatic to make quick work of their targets. Tsuna almost felt insulted that whoever sent the kill team thought that average-Joe gunmen were enough.

The principal moved on. "_Mochida Kensuke!_" he called to shake hands with. A shutter of cameras.

Going by Reborn and Shouichi's observations, however, only a few in the mafia world believed that Vongola's Tenth Generation was as strong as rumours went. Whoever had sent the assassins probably thought snot-nosed brats out of the targets and had simply sent assassins on the one day the location of the Decimo and his guardians was predictable. "One must always overestimate; never underestimate," Reborn always emphasised. If the hitman could, Reborn would probably beat up the assassins' employer for a lazy, pathetic job.

"_Sasagawa Kyoko!_"

Three more auras, two of which weren't flame users, the third possessing an energetic quality. It seemed Ryohei and his sister had taken care of the second assassin. Too bad she wouldn't make it to shaking the principal's hand. Yet, whose aura was heading for the principal? The roof door slammed open.

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi!_"

* * *

"What is Sawada doing?" Hana huffed. The ceremony was starting in less than a minute, and the brunette claimed he needed to go to the bathroom? He should have went earlier!

"Hana," Kyoko greeted, and Hana turned to her friend. "Where's your brother? I thought he was with you," Hana noticed. Kyoko smiled and shrugged. "He wants to check on Tsuna-kun. Are you coming?" Kyoko gestured to the general direction of the outdoor theatre. Hana shook her head. "Go on ahead, Kyoko. Boys these days just don't know how things operate." Sawada and Ryohei were leaving the girls out of whatever was going on, and Hana would have none of it. Kyoko giggled at Hana's statement and bade farewell as she headed for the theatre.

"Honestly," Hana muttered when she was alone. "Sawada and Ryohei-san should know better." She jumped at the muted rattle of gunfire, but when she glanced out the windows, the people at the far side of the school didn't appear to hear it. _Mafia, here, in this school,_ Hana realised with detached surprise.

"_Kurokawa Hana!_"

She went up a floor and passed a culinary arts classroom, ignoring her name. She didn't need a picture with the principal anyway. _The mafia intruders could ruin the ceremony._ She and the student council had worked hard to put the event together. The thought made her stop. If a bunch of muscle monkeys ruined the ceremony to try killing any of her classmates, they had another thing coming.

The crowd murmured as the principal called her name. After another try, the principal moved on to Mochida. "Hana!" someone shouted, much closer than possible to be coming from the outdoor theatre. Besides, her name had already been called—

Hana was jerked aside just in time for a bullet to zip past her ear like an angry wasp. Ryohei threw a punch at the burly assassin that had crept up on the girl that could compromise the assassin's location. The big man just absorbed the punch to the stomach and laughed. "Vongola's Tenth Generation really is just a bunch of kids!" the assassin crowed in Italian.

"You alright, Hana?" Ryohei asked his sister's best friend. The lack of "extreme" reflected his bewilderment with the burly assassin's size. In Ryohei's moment of distraction, the assassin pressured the two schoolkids into a culinary classroom. Ryohei reflexively responded to the manipulation of territory as he would in a boxing ring. He recovered before he could be cornered, and moved to punch the assassin again. The assassin just took it to the shoulder and retaliated with a swing of a rifle butt to Ryohei's head.

The boxer dodged, but he was still frustrated at the little damage he could make. It was a silent agreement between guardians that no one used flames unless they wanted to compromise themselves before civilians or alert the others that a flame user was present. Ryohei couldn't even use a toned down Maximum Burst to take out the assassin. The big man seemed to mistake Ryohei's silent contemplation as recognition of the assassin's superiority. "What'cha gonna do, boy? Give me another mosquito bite of a punch? Do you even speak Italia—"

Before the assassin could finish his sentence, Hana kicked him in the shins, grabbed a frying pan, and swung as hard as she could at the assassin's head. Hana rested the frying pan over her shoulder as the burly assassin fell. "Men," she huffed. And everyone thought _girls_ talked too much. Ryohei watched the assassin hit the floor with a loud thud and lie there, sure to be out for the next few hours. The boxer kneeled and took Hana's hands into his own.

"Kurokawa Hana! You are the most beautiful and EXTREME woman I've ever met! Please go out with me!"

Hana blushed, taken aback. To be called a woman, and a beautiful one none the less, by a male who meant every word he said…. Hana smiled and kissed Ryohei's cheek. "I extremely say yes," she replied.

* * *

"_Sawada Tsunayoshi!_"

Tsuna opened his eyes and shot up fast enough to forcibly angle the rifle away from the direction of him or the crowd. A series of balloons tied to the roof's rails popped with three seconds' worth of bullets. "I don't have time for this!" Tsuna huffed.

The crowd murmured. "_Sawada Tsunayoshi?_" the principal tried again.

A headbutt caught the assassin off-guard long enough to grab and toss the semi-automatic away out of reach. Tsuna followed up with a kick to a kneecap to bring the assassin down to eye-level, and then delivered a mean right hook that sent a tooth flying. A taser came at him with the assassin's wild swing. Not expecting it, Tsuna jumped back too late to dodge completely, and he quickly countered his fate with a strike at the assassin's wrist and a kick to send the taser flying away to a safer distance. It fell towards the fireworks below.

"Crap!" "_Sawada-kun?_"

In his moment of distraction, the assassin dove for the rifle and aimed. Tsuna's intuition roared. In a split-second decision, he leapt off the roof, turned in mid-air, and sent a slash of flames at the assassin. The fireworks went off the same time gunfire filled the air and sky flames lit the roof. The bullets that weren't melted by Tsuna's flames passed harmlessly overhead as he fell three stories, and shrieks rattled the air, though Tsuna couldn't tell if it was the crowd or the fireworks. He blindly grabbed for the hanging banners to slow his descent to sure death, discovered he'd be too late, and sprung himself off the building. Disoriented, Tsuna made the stage his measurement for which way was up, and he aimed his feet at it.

Tuck, roll, stop. _Breathe_. He…made it?

The crowd roared.

"Did you see that!" "That's what I call an entrance!" "The school's fireworks sure have upgraded!" Tsuna slowly got up and blinked against the flash of cameras. When he glanced at the roof, he saw Ryohei and Hana standing at the edge, smiling. Ryohei had an arm around Hana, who had a frying pan in hand. No doubt they had taken care of the assassin Tsuna had just fought with. Tsuna laughed, relieved no one was hurt and that no identities were compromised, and happy for his friends.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," the principal offered his hand, and Tsuna turned to him. "Namichuu thanks you for a stellar three years."

Tsuna smiled. "Thank _you,_" Tsuna replied back, and he shook hands.

* * *

Reborn and Iemitsu arrived at the tail-end of the ceremony. Hibari and the DC were relocating the unconscious assassins elsewhere for Iemitsu and Reborn to decide what they wanted to do with them, but for now, Iemitsu was gushing over his cute son and darling wife, and Reborn was amusedly piecing together just how _awesome_ Tsuna's entrance was. Yes, Tsuna nodded with the idea, he _did_ have his awesome moments.

"It's the end of your middle school years," Reborn noted aloud as another round of parents and kids complimented Tsuna's creativity. "You know what that means?" he asked. Tsuna hummed in delight. "Summer vacation?" the brunette replied hopefully.

When Nono decided to get Tsuna involved as the boss candidate, it meant less paperwork coming to the old man and instead being given to Tsuna, much to the teen's sorrow. For the rest of the school semester, Tsuna had had to maintain A's at school and an image of an efficient, thorough boss candidate as judged by how soon and well he got his paperwork done.

Least to say, Tsuna _sincerely_ hoped that the tingle his intuition was giving off at Reborn's words wasn't warning him of a possible increase of paperwork over the summer.

"Of course." Uh oh. A nice answer wasn't good. Nice _anything_ from Reborn couldn't mean good. "After all, what child doesn't see family over vacation? It's practically expected from the average teenager." "Who's coming over?" Tsuna immediately demanded. He needed to know what kind of stress he had to prepare himself for. "No one is, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn answered honestly, according to hyper intuition. Tsuna relaxed but frowned at that.

"_You_ are coming to _them_."

The guardians, Tsuna — everyone involved — were implied in Reborn's statement. Tsuna felt his heart nearly stop. The destruction — the paperwork! That was high enough when anyone from Italy came over to Namimori. Now?

They were going to _Italy_.

* * *

A/N: Wow, that was a long one! I wrote a chunk of this, sat on it for a week or so, and then pulled myself together to write the actual graduating part and add a beginning to the chapter. School, life, and a multitude of plot bunnies sure can distract one from a fic, am I right? ;p I hope this was worth the wait! Now excuse me as I spend another three weeks in between school writing a seventh chapter….

Besides that, we should celebrate! Tsuna and the others have finally graduated middle school, heading towards complimenting the title of this work, _High School Boss_! :D

Some readers have commented that Tsuna and the others have matured "too quickly." For the sake of my fic, I have made this so, but I like to imagine that Tsuna and the rest are more mature than Amano lets on.

Yamamoto, for example, acted like everything was a game, but his cheery demeanour didn't change even when Reborn had a one-on-one session with him in the Future arc ("Ha ha ha! You're just being nice. It felt like you still had plenty to spare. …You're really strong, little guy."), and it makes you wonder when Yamamoto stopped calling things a game as you finish reading KHR….

Tsuna, on the other hand, is not inclined to optimism, has spent more time with Reborn than Yamamoto, and is not _a_ guardian, but _the_ boss. In other words, he has to lead his friends — and strangers — into harmful situations when necessary (e.g. Varia arc, battle against Millefiore, Shimon arc, and finally, as "boss" of Team Reborn).

Tsuna has his few inspiring, mature moments in the manga in true shounen style (injured but determined, clear-gazed, fists clenched), but an inspiring, mature personality doesn't simply surface in scattered moments; it is _developed_. So while Amano depicts Tsuna as a blundering school idiot when he's not saving the world (why is Tsuna still "No-Good" in Chapter 409? _Why?_), I'm imagining a Tsuna whose small actions reflect the tested young hero he is.

Many thanks to HSB supporters, and as someone who values lengthy reviews and/or insightful appreciation, I'd like to give special thanks to azalealady, FireFallAngel, Teal the Banned, Escrori, 1458, HSBSupporter, kurobook, Kitty in a Pouch, and Cael05!


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